Isolation: The Cold Shoulder
by CrybabyQueenofWhatever
Summary: Life is a living hell. Essence, North, Myrah, and Derek know that all too well. They all have something in common, but are hiding secrets that nobody knows about. These five teens have one option, fight for what they believe in or die trying.
1. Essence

**CHAPTER ONE**

 **ESSENCE**

I have never really liked people.

People are judgmental and rude. They never seem to have enough respect for you, the people you love, and things that are important to you. They are always "cooler" than you and they label you before you even have a chance to open your damn mouth. You could speak in Shakespearean tongues and they would never even know because before you have a chance to say hello they take one look and give you a label.

People judge me everyday. They judge me for my snowy white hair and piercing steely blue eyes. They judge me for the odd freckles that are splashed across my pixie nose and chubby cheeks. I haven't ever pbeen seen without a light blue choker with a snowflake charm wrapped around my neck or my mother's wedding ring placed onto my pinkie. I never wear long sleeves or long pants because I am never cold. I almost never speak because I am never heard. I am never happy because I have nothing left. I am secretly very lonely. But do I tell anyone? Of course not.

I guess if I wasn't carrying huge secrets around on my back, I would actually have something like a life. I would have friends, family who loved and cared for me, and I would finally be able to chase my dreams without being afraid of what or who I might hurt in the process.

My name is Essence Eirwen-Aurora. I am thirteen years old and I have the power to control and create ice and snow. The people like me — if there are any left in the world — are known as Manipulators.

I first figured out that I had the powers when I was in daycare when I was four. A boy was teasing me so I acted as if I was going to push him down. Instead, he became a full-sized statue of ice. Nobody could trace it back to me because all the sudden I was back and crying with the rest of the kids at the daycare. Nobody ever found out who it was to this day.

No one except for my mom.

My mom knew the struggle behind mastering the powers because she inherited them from her father. She sat me down that evening and started to explain everything.

"This is who you are." She cooed in a warm, buttery voice. "But it's a dangerous part of who you are. You must hide it. Understand, Essence?"

"But, Mommy." I protested. "I can build snowmen now! In summer! I can do cool stuff! Please, Mommy, please, please, please!"

"I'm sorry, my little pluen eira. But you can't tell anybody that you have these powers." She said calmly.

"So I can show them then?!" I said enthusiastically.

"No, that is even more dangerous." Mom sighed, obviously getting frazzled.

"Don't show. Don't tell. Aww, but I like show and tell!"

My mother chuckled and stroked my face. "You can use the powers at home, of course when Delilah isn't around."

My entire mind went blank. Delilah is my grandmother, and we're all afraid of her. She has hurt us in the past and continuously targeted me and my mom. Just because she is old, doesn't mean she can't kick ass. She uses special surgeries and creams to remain young-looking, and they work. She is mean, disrespectful, and a complete monster. I've witnessed everything she has done wrong. Everything from beating my mom up to ripping the heads off my dolls. But the worst thing she had done changed my life forever.

I had just turned five a few days prior. After being tucked into bed, I closed my eyes and relaxed. Delilah had gone out to visit my grandpa and the house felt silent and safe. I drifted off, purring and nuzzled up to my pillow.

A voice cut through my dreams and my eyes jolted open as my father scooped me up into his arms.

"Daddy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, sweetie. Just stay calm, okay?" He sounded desperate. "Everything will be okay soon." Not moments later did I fall out of his arms as the sound of a gunshot pierce through my ears. The bullet him in the back of his head and he fell to the floor, dropping me and making me cry.

My mom clutched her pregnant belly and guarded my one year old sister. I cried and cried. My mother fell to the floor as one bullet sank through her chest and I screamed as five more attacked her soon-to-be-delivered baby bump.

My little sister cried and a figure in a thin, black cloak strolled past me, swept her up into her arms and began to rock her in her arms. Asphodel immediately stopped fussing. She put a fist in her mouth and slobbered, babbling and cooing.

And then the figure turned to face me. Delilah wore tight black pants and a form-fitting black top with ruffles. There was a holster hooked onto her belt and she slid the pistol into it firmly. Her blonde-dyed hair hung in loose waves over her shoulders and the whole thing was shrouded in a lacy black cloak. She cradled my baby sister in the curve of her arm and I noticed a snowflake tattoo on her wrist. One grey, one black, with a white one sandwiched in the middle. The symbol of—

"Quit your crying, brat." Delilah hissed. "You knew that it was gonna happen." She grabbed Asphodel and fled the scene, breaking out the window. I sat there sobbing and holding my baby sister until the police arrived. By then, my head hurt and I was very sleepy. I fell asleep at the police station in someone's swivel chair. Baby Asphodel was gone and the police were looking everywhere and they were trying to figure out what happened. I could have told them but I had sworn to myself to never speak again.

Nowadays I attend Boston Middle School up in Massachusetts. I am shy and reserved and I have no friends. I'm kind of a hopeless case if you haven't already seen.

I get bullied by my peers and beaten by Delilah. How she hasn't gone to prison yet, I don't know. Someday soon everything will change. The world, the lives of everybody, society… I will be free to be who I want, when I want, however I want. No more pain, no more suffering. This will turn into the perfect world.

I have feeling will start with me or someone like me.


	2. North

CHAPTER TWO

NORTH

Who the hell am I?

A question I ask myself in the mirror every morning when I drag my ass out of bed. I know the answer to that question. I'm a liar. My life is nothing but a lie. I've recreated my ideal world and dragged everyone into it. My life is nothing without the lies I've put into it. People are bound to find out sooner or later that I'm nothing but a liar with a rough past.

My name is North Aster. I'm thirteen years old and I have secrets. Many secrets. Starting with the fact that my father isn't in the army, he just ran away when my mother gave birth to me. My mother isn't working for an advertising agency, she just steals money and buys plane tickets to island resorts and is an alcoholic. She doesn't bring me or my older brother along. Speaking of my older brother, Rick didn't graduate Boston College with honors, he had terrible grades and dropped out of community college. He stays home to take care of me.

The biggest secret I hold by far? I'm a Manipulator. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one left alive in the United States. Manipulators are very rare and when they are found, they are killed immediately. No excuses. I've never been cold because I'm a Manipulator. I've ualways wondered what cold feels like. Being a Manipulator means I have total control over ice and snow. It's a pretty cool power to have until you realise your jackass dad passed it on down to you. I can't tell anyone about it or even show them. That's too dangerous. I risk the lives of everyone around me and even my family.

Because I've built my life out of lies, I'm very popular. Some days it's amazing, some days it's just wrong. Sure, it's nice to have friends by my side all the time and to be "idolized" or whatever, but it sucks knowing that I've been lying to everyone just so I'm not alone. I still feel alone, despite everything. I'm after the girl of my dreams, but she's so unattainable. She's been hurt before and I want to make her better. I want to make her mine.

Essence is a shy girl who my friends like to bully. Quiet, calm, and reserved. Nobody has ever heard her speak before. I'm in love with her. I love her smoky grey eyes that make me stop and stare. Her straight, silver-streaked hair frames her delicate face perfectly. She's got a willowy frame, pouty lips, and amazing style that's all her own. People bully Essence because she's different from everyone. She likes to sit alone and away from people, although I have sat at her lunch table a few times.

When she's mine, I will give her the world. Everything she's ever fathomed will belong to her. I will be there for her forever. And maybe, if it's even remotely possible, Essence will smile. She'll laugh. She'll feel love. She'll be happy.

If it was up to me, I wouldn't have told all those lies and I would be bullied too. I would be able to sympathize and empathize with Essence. Sure, I would lose all of my friends and so-called "fame", but I would have who I desire the most.

I just want to be normal for once. I want to come out and patch up the itty-bitty holes in my heart and my life. If I keep lying, I'll either turn into some smart ass Pinocchio or explode. I won't ever get a chance at a real, genuine life and Essence will probably never notice me. She's my Senpai...

It's a good thing that people nowadays have just about no attention span whatsoever and aren't super Sherlock Holmes-inspired detectives because otherwise, my cover would have been blown a long time ago. Even when I look in the mirror, my blue eyes have lies in them. Even in the way I spike up my blond hair, I look like an absolute douchebag and liar. You can't trust me with anything.

Well, except this...

I want to change and I will, just when the time is "right" or whatever. When I do change, I'll tell nothing but the truth, maybe even about being a Manipulator. What choice do I have? This has got to stop right now.

I want to change.


	3. Alyssa

CHAPTER THREE

ALYSSA

I wish I wasn't so screwed up. On the inside, words and thoughts swirl around that would impress all of my teachers but they come out sounding like a four year old thought them up. I know I have a disability, but does it seriously have to make me feel bad about myself?

My name is Alyssa Neva. My friends call me The Comic Relief's Girlfriend, considering the fact that my boyfriend, Derek, is an all-around class clown. I guess I'm blessed that I even have a boyfriend or friends. My disability makes me sound and act like a klutz. At least I'm not like that loser Essence who sits alone all the time. What an idiot.

When I was little, I spoke the same way I do now. My dad didn't start getting worried about it until I was ten. He took me to the doctors. I was told that I have autism there. I cried a lot that day. Nothing my dad did would cheer me up.

I love learning and going to school. For me, it's always fun to learn new things. I'm limited, though. The teachers at my school put me in the ASD Room, where I learn with the other autistic kids. I have a majority of my classes in there, with only three of my classes in the normal classrooms. I have an aide that accompanies me, so I'm not all that free. She always tells me that since I'm different, I have to be "monitored". What a jackass.

The only time Miss Dumbass isn't up in my face is during lunch, passing time, or in the morning when I arrive at school. I can see my friends, terrorize Essence, you know, the usual.

When I can, I go to the library and check out Jane Austen or Nathaniel Hawthorne books. Another personal favorite of mine is Charles Dickens. I read till late at night, when even my father and brother have gone to bed. After I've finished a book I write about it in my journal. There's a feeling of satisfaction it brings me. A feeling that nobody cares about my autism or the way I talk or any of the problems I'm supposed to have. Reading also distracts from the fact I'm a Manipulator.

It's kind of like carrying around a dime bag of pot and then walking into a room full of relatives who think you're "the good child". You've got a secret you're keeping 24/7 and being exactly who everyone thinks you are.

I have a brother. His name is Eric. He is overly protective of me. He is the only one who knows I'm a Manipulator. Oh, you thought I was gonna whine about him being a frigging ass? Who are you, a reporter? Wanting to learn about my life? Lemme tell ya something. YOU ARE A JACKASS. Deal with it.

I want to live, but, I think sometimes it's not worth it. Why should I? Why should people suffer when others live the good life? Why should some live with disabilities when others have nothing bad about them? Why does this disability define who I am, limit me, and hold me back? I shouldn't let it do this to me, but it's all I want to do.

Some days it feels like Derek isn't even there for me! Like he just says 'I love you' to say it. No meaning behind it whatsoever. My dad is always busy, Mama is dead, and my only friends think of me as a joke.

Why are some people different than the rest? Why does it need to be like this? Why was I born like this?

I just want some love, some appreciation. I want to be normal.


	4. Derek

CHAPTER FOUR

DEREK

I'm pretty content right now.

Everything's great! Life's great! I got my homies with me, my baby by my side, everything. I feel good… I live in a nice house with my mom and dad and they make a lot of money. I get all the coolest clothes, toys, electronics, and video games when they are available. It's a real nice life to live. I love it!

Well, sorta. I would like it if my little brother hadn't been killed in a bus crash. I would like it if my slightly older brother wasn't a drug dealer. I would really love if my oldest sister wasn't a hooker and worked at a bar as an escort. Sure, if my mom paid a little more attention to me instead of her alcohol, I'd be very happy. If my dad wasn't cheating on my mom with a younger woman, I'd be a little more cheerful.

Huh. I guess we're not the most perfect family after all.

My name is Derek Olwen. I'm trying to feel happy with what I got. My broken family. Overflowing bank accounts. Cool friends who think I'm someone I'm not. A cute girlfriends.

I guess I'm blessed, though. I've got a roof over my head, food to eat, water to drink, clothes on my back, education, and family. Not saying that they really know I'm there half the time—or care. They're my family though. I guess I love them. I live in a broken home, but we have money so it kinda makes up for it. Money can't buy you a perfect family. Or happiness. It can buy puppies though.

Besides all that drama, I've got it pretty good. My best friend's name is North. He's seriously cool. His dad's in the army, his mom works for this advertisement company thingy and his brother graduated from Boston College! Now that is a cool guy! North is my bro.

And where the hell do I start with my girlfriend? Damn, she's fine. A little ditzy, but damn fine. That body is banging! I'm telling you! You couldn't ask for a hotter chick. Pretty blue eyes and dirty blond hair done up in braids. She even sends me photos. Well, maybe I shouldn't go too much in depth about that.

Sure, maybe Alyssa isn't all that smart, but who needs brains anyway? She's hot, she's cool, she loves me, that's all that matters. Right?

I've got my whole squad with me, I've got my girl, I've got riches, and I've got my broken family. I guess I'm lucky. Maybe I'm happy. I haven't decided.

I sorta just realised something. All the money can't buy away my powers. I'm a fucking Manipulator and all my homies and riches can't change that. It seriously blows being a Manipulator. Part of my freedom has been given away to this secret, the rest of my freedom was taken by my teachers. Freaking school.

I want to tell people who I seriously am. I want to say I'm not home most of the time, I don't hang with my babe, Alyssa, all the time, and, yeah, I don't have the most perfect life. But can I? No. I want to tell people about Manipulators so they aren't thought of as menaces.

I want to be me. I want my life to be perfect. I want a loving family. I want to help Alyssa.

I want out of this hell that holds me.


	5. Myrah

CHAPTER FIVE

MYRAH

I've always felt just a little bit different from everyone. Being in the locker room in gym class always kinda turned me on. The internet has always lead me to inappropriate material, but I've enjoyed it with no shame. And there's always been something about the female figure that has made me feel aroused. I sorta denied it before… But I had seriously considered it in sixth grade.

My name is Myrah Aspen. I don't deny the fact that I'm a lesbian anymore. I proudly embrace it. Outside of my house, I don't like to say much about it because kids are jerks. I will talk to my aunt when I need help, considering the fact that she's lesbian too. She helps me out when I need it the most.

All of these feelings came through in fourth grade. I kissed my best friend Christin on the playground during recess one day. She never told anyone, but also never talked to me again. From then on I knew that was what I wanted to be. It defined me for a while.

Alyssa has always been in my life from kindergarten up until now. We're best friends, naturally. But I feel we could be more than best friends. I love her. I really really love her. If she wasn't dating that jerk Derek, I would swoop right in and ask her to be my girlfriend. Derek doesn't love Alyssa, he just wants her for her body. He just wants to be able to say he has a girlfriend. He doesn't fucking care. I love her for her thoughts, not her body. It helps, though.

Nothing about me would really say lesbian. I have designer clothes and fancy oils to take care of my hair. I wear makeup and I gossip with the other girls and go to Starbucks. It's not like I totally dress weird or I'm suffering from depression or anything. I guess it's not how you look that makes you lesbian. It's who you are on the inside or who you want to be. Okay. Cool.

My mother and father left for vacation when I was six. They left me with my aunt and said that they would be back a week later. We got the news that the cruise ship sunk two weeks later. Aunt Leah adopted me and ever since then, she has been raising me as her own child. Aunt Leah advises me on love, loss, and how to do well in my life. She's pretty damn cool. She's one of my closest friends.

Speaking of my closest friends: I hang with the popular crowd. A kid named North, a few other girls and two boys nobody knows the names to, Alyssa, and Derek. Together we rule the school. We've got the world in our hands. Derek's got a rich family, North's got a pretty amazing life, and Alyssa is always very cheerful. You need those kinds of people in your life in case suddenly your life sucks. Believe me, I've had my moments.

My life mainly sucks because I'm a Manipulator and nobody is supposed to know. Aunt Leah knows because only your family can know. She's a Manipulator, too. She's taught me how to control my powers and how to expertly hide them. She taught me what to do when my powers get out of control. She told me when my powers would get stronger. That happens when the freaky 'having children' talk is given I guess. I really didn't pay much attention.

I wish I wasn't so confused about being myself. It's pretty complicated. You try to be like everybody else and everything that's different about you compared to them is the stuff you try to get rid of. I love being me. I wouldn't wanna be anybody else. I'd just like to have a better understanding of why I'm so ashamed all of the sudden.

I don't care if I'm a lesbian. I don't care if I'm a Manipulator. I just want to be happy with myself. I want others to be happy with me, too. I will come out when I'm ready and if people don't accept me, then I will find new friends.

Where can I be accepted? How can I be happy?


	6. This Little Piggy

CHAPTER SIX

NORTH

Lunch time is when I can really wind down from everything. I had just gotten out of math class, and my brain was throbbing from doing algebra problems non-stop. My tray was filled up with random things that I picked off our strange menu. I was making my way over to the table where my friends sit when my eyes swept over to Essence. She was sitting alone at a table and thoughtfully nibbling on a slice of cheese pizza. She had the normal lonely expression on her face. I felt my heart drop to my stomach. I immediately turned on my heel and strolled over to where Essence was sitting. I set my tray down and find a seat right next to her. Essence's smokey eyes fill with fear for a second and she scoots away a few inches.

"I'm not here to hurt you." I assure her. She seems to relax a little and continues to eat her pizza. Is that all that's on her tray? It looked like there was just a bottle of water and a slice of pizza on it. I didn't want to be rude so I kept my mouth shut.

"How are you, Essa?" I try. Essence whips her head around to face me. Her eyebrows are knit with confusion. Damn it, I called her Essa! Does she like that? No? Ugh!

"How are you doing?" I ask politely. "How's your day been?" And to that, Essence only offers a little shrug. Ooh, I wanna hear your voice. Pleeeease, I think to myself.

"Did you see the Bruins cream the Red Wings last night?" I offer. She likes hockey, right? A beautiful smile and rosy blush creeps up her face. My heart skips a million beats. Essence nods and laughs a little bit. It was a beautiful sound, like wind chimes in spring or a gentle calypso in summer.

What happened next blew my mind completely.

"That one guy on the Wings just wouldn't get out of the way of Chara's slap shot!" Essence purred. Her voice was buttery and sweet and it echoed through my head like the melody to a song.

"Yeah." I chuckled. Yesssssss! Conversation! One point for Aster!

"Enough about me." Essence cooed. "How have you been?"

"Uh… Well…" I stuttered. Her eyes welcomed me. "I've been good. Thanks for asking."

"No problem." Essence chirps.

"The reason I was asking you that was… Well, because of… Ahem… Her…" I said carefully.

Essence's smile faded. Fuck! No! Grrr… "She's narrowed it down to only one beating a night now!" She says enthusiastically. My eyes pool with tears. I couldn't imagine how it must feel to get beaten by someone who is supposed to love you.

There was a long, hollow silence. "Hey," I say, breaking the silence. "Do you like pop tarts?"

"Love." Essence beams. I pulled a strawberry-iced one off my tray and handed it to her. Her eyes sparkle as I place it in her hand.

"I don't really like them." I explain.

"On the rare occasion that I do get fed, I love eating pop tarts." Essence smiles. "I just can never afford them. Grandma doesn't put any money in my lunch account."

"That's sad." I say. She shrugs and takes a bite out of the yummy pastry.

"Thank you." Essence says once she's swallowed it.

"No problem." I laugh. "That's what friends are for."

Essence only smiles at me.

"North?! What the hell, bro?" Derek's voice calls from behind me. My heart stops beating for a second. Oh shit. He's here to tease her.

My entire group of friends emerges from behind me and Essence's eyes fill with fear.

"Well, well, well. What do we got here?" Myrah snickers. Essence closes her eyes and and wraps her arms around herself. Myrah appears next to Essence and gets up in her face.

"Don't eat too much, kid. You'll end up fat! Oh wait, too late." She teases, patting Essence's stomach. Essence looks very pissed off at her.

"Aww… Is the little piggy too full?" Derek sniggers. Essence shudders and my face gets heated.

"Leave her alone." I snap. Myrah and Derek don't stop.

"Oink oink!" They laugh. Essence whimpers and curls herself up into a ball.

"This little piggy…" Myrah chants. Essence is sniffling now.

"Careful, she's still hungry." Derek cackles. Essence starts crying and I jump up, pushing Derek down onto his ass.

"I SAID TO LEAVE HER ALONE, YOU BASTARD!" I boom. Derek looks at me incredulously.

"Bro, chill out. I was just having fun." He snickers. Other kids have started to stare at us.

"How would you like it if she was teasing you? Huh? Did you even think about that?" I scold him. Derek shakes his head.

"She's pathetic! She wouldn't have the strength to insult me!" He shoots back.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Essence running out of the lunchroom, melting into the crowd of people heading off to class.

"Essence, wait!" I call after her. I run towards the lockers just in time to see her pulling her binder out and slamming the door of her locker. She scampers off to class and my heart wrenches in my chest.

She doesn't deserve this bullshit. My friends call from behind me, this time more Alyssa's voice than anybody else's. For the first time, I ignore them.

I run through the halls, pushing past little seventh and sixth graders. I catch a glimpse of her silver and grey hair and try to catch up. She ducks into English class and I stop running, standing for a while to catch my breath. I was going to be late to class. I was sure of it. I plodded back to my locker and grabbed my binder after putting in the long, rambling combination. I was tardy to science class but I didn't care.

We were learning about genetics but I wasn't paying attention much. I was too busy thinking about Essence. She actually talked to me. She was so happy and so nice and then my friends just thought it would be funny to hurt her feelings.

I should've been paying attention in class because we had a pop quiz a few minutes later. Needless to say, I flunked it. I didn't care. As soon as we got out of class I bolted and tried to find Essence. I made it out the front doors in time to see her boarding her bus to get home. Shit.

Tomorrow. I promised myself. I will find her tomorrow.


	7. Grandma's Special Medicine

CHAPTER SEVEN

ESSENCE

When the bus got dropped me off at my house, I stared at it for a moment. The house is a pale blue ranch style with a white door and windows with grey curtains. The siding was peeling a little bit and the door was falling off the hinges but I didn't care. I ran for the back door, noticing that Delilah's Ford Focus wasn't in the driveway. Good.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." I curse under my breath as I recall the events of earlier that day. North's company had been the best thing that had happened to me in a long time and Derek and Myrah just had to make it awful. What have I ever done to them? What have I done to deserve this? You know what? I'm fucking done!

I dropped my backpack onto the floor and walked over to the island where kitchen knives sat, blades down in the wooden block. I pulled the biggest one out, my fingers wrapping around the smooth, black handle and relishing the sound of the knife coming out of its sheath. I pressed the tip of the blade into my wrist and closed my eyes as tears dotted the corners. Is this really something I want? Are people going to even care? Probably. But probably not.

I think about cutting and just getting it over with so I didn't have to face all of it ever again.

But I stop.

What about North? I seriously think I have a chance with him. If I do this now, will he be sad, will he move on, or will he cut?

I drop the knife on the floor and stand still for a moment, breathing hard and letting tears stream down my face. I turn and open the fridge. There's nothing in there for me. Delilah put all her food in there and if I even eat a nibble, I will be beaten. My stomach grumbles and I scowl. I slam the refrigerator door and stomp my way upstairs to my bedroom. I open the door and it squeaks as I close it.

The shaggy carpet has a pile of velvet blankets in the middle with one little pillow. My bed. Delilah's bed has a mattress and a box spring and a million thread-count sheets and fluffy puffy pillows. My alarm clock is plugged into the wall beside me. My room is dark because my windows are decorated with black curtains and the light is broken. I hate it. I lay there for a few minutes, listening to my breathing and staring at the ceiling until I dozed off.

I had a dream about North. It was absolutely amazing. We were alone in an empty room and I said something that made him laugh. He then leaned over, blue eyes burning into my soul, and nibbled my neck gently. I let out a soft moan as he suckled the sensitive skin of my neck and jawline. I reached for the hem of his shirt as his lips crashed against mine. I pulled his shirt off over his head and I straddled him, making him moan as I met his lips again. I eyed his jaw and left warm, wet kisses along the underside. North starts pulling at my skirt to reveal my panties. I unbutton his jeans desperately and shove my hand down the front of his boxers and he groans and says my name as I grasp what he wants me to most. Maybe I should spare you the details...

I woke up with soaked panties and shortness of breath. I slapped a few fingers on my wrist, a habit I formed years back when I needed to calm down.

 _Essence Aria Eirwen-Aurora, you naughty little bitch. You aren't a fucking whore!_ At least that's what I thought in my head. Maybe I was a borderline whore. My clothes definitely don't say whore. It's really just white fitted tees with v-necks, skinny blue jeans, worn out blue Skechers, all tied together with a snowflake necklace I'm pretty sure I've never taken off. Kinda my signature look. If I'm trying not to act suspicious, I will throw on the only sweatshirt—not to mention the only thing in my closet with long sleeves—I have which is light grey, very soft, and has white fleece inside. The sleeves cover my hands slightly and the entire thing smells like cookies and cocoa. My attitude never said whore. Shy, scared, reserved. Nope, no whore there. I guess I got off scot-free this time

For a split second after I chided myself, I swore I heard moaning coming from the other room, but soon realised it was all in my head. I stretched myself out for a moment and put my hair up with a white ponytail holder that was wrapped around my ankle. I then forced myself to rise up out of the heap of smelly, crusty blankets. I stood in the middle of the room, gently breathing in and out, focusing on keeping a slow heartbeat. I drop my hands to my sides and let my eyes close. As I focus my energy into my hands, a cool, blue aura floods my closed eyelids. A tingling sensation starts in my toes, creeping its way up my spine, and into my skull where I feel buzzing. The tingling slowly slides down my arms, settling in my palms. A slight burning sensation accompanies it and I hear the roar of Arctic Wind as it blows around me. Opening my eyes, I see a small blizzard stirring around me and an unmissable blue light in each of my palms, bringing some light into the room for once. I slowly raise my arms above my head, being careful not to close my hands, and then forcefully clap them together. The blizzard gets wilder, blowing me in a few different directions for a moment before I regain my balance. As I focus my energy on an image, it forms above my head in snowflakes.

My mom. My dad. Happy, smiling, proud of me. Alive. I reach out to touch the image, tears stinging my eyes, and the snowflakes creating it completely explode. No more Mama. No more Daddy.

"Fuck." I spit. It never works. It never stays long enough for me to touch them. I sigh. It's not like today would be my lucky day or anything!

I snap my fingers and a loud ringing pierces my ears as snowflakes circle around me, slowly dissolving into thin air. The cold air stops blowing. The room reduces back to its normal temperature. There's no evidence that there was any snow anywhere. On my body or anywhere in the room. I don't need Delilah finding out I'm a Manipulator. She knew my parents were Manipulators, but she doesn't know I'm one. It's better that way. She'll find out about it when I kill her.

As if on cue, I hear a car door being slammed from the driveway and then the back door squeaking as it opens. I open my bedroom door and start to walk downstairs carefully. Too much noise and Delilah will get pissed.

"Essence!" Delilah shrieks from the kitchen. "Come here! Now!"

"Coming!" I say obediently. It's not like I have much of a choice. I walk into the kitchen and greet her with a cheesy smile. She nods approvingly and I breathe a sigh of relief. I started to size her up and down. She's a fifty eight-year old woman. Delilah normally wears all black. Today she wore a tight black dress with tee shirt-like sleeves, black pantyhose, and black heels. Her grey-streaked blond hair framed her face and the wrinkles on her face looked deeper and made her look very tired. The tattoo of the snowflakes on her wrist looked faded and worn out. Good.

Delilah grabs a hand mirror from off the counter and cringes at the sight of her reflection. Clearly she's not the only one who thinks she's ugly.

"Essence, would you be a dear and fetch my special pills from the bathroom upstairs?" She said with an oddly pleasant, yet desperate tone to her voice. She cracked a smile, I could tell it was killing her and I broke out in sweat.

"Y-yes Delilah." I say in a monotone, scrambling upstairs to the bathroom and opening a drawer where a big bottle of pills sat in the corner. The label has been peeled off. I try to open the bottle but Delilah's voice comes ripping through the silence.

"Hurry it up, you little brat!" Delilah screams. "I'm not getting any younger here!"

 _Yeah, I can see that._

I sprint down the stairs, into the kitchen, and placing the bottle of pills into Delilah's wrinkly, shaking hand.

"A little faster next time, okay? Now beat it, before I beat you." She snarls. I turn the corner, but peer back around it when I'm out of view. I watch Delilah unscrew the top of the bottle and pull out two black pills from it. She digs a long fingernail into the shell of one and I hear it crack. She tilts her head back and pours the grey powder from the broken pill into her mouth. She splutters and repeats the process with the other pill. I hear her wheezing and she starts clutching her chest and coughing again. I was about ready to run in and help her but I stopped myself. Let her choke. Let her suffer. I can escape this cruel world. I can try to have a shot with North. I can be free. Finally.

I watch her fall to the ground and arch her back. I close my eyes and pump an air fist. When I open them, she's lying on the ground with her eyes closed, but she looks different. The wrinkles on her skin are gone. Her breasts and behind are bigger and the grey in her hair is not there.

The pills keep her young. She would be dead if it weren't for those pills. I have an idea. A really great idea.


	8. And The Lucky Girl Is!

CHAPTER EIGHT

MYRAH

When I went home that afternoon, I felt very satisfied. But I also felt guilty. Essence never does anything bad to me. Or Derek. Or Alyssa. Or North. Or anyone for that matter. Essence is actually kinda quiet and calm. She's pretty, too. I've been bullying her for nothing. What if she's been going through hell too? I heard a rumor her parents and siblings were murdered. Is that true? What have I done?!

"Aunt Leah?" I call from the living room. I paused the episode of Pretty Little Liars I was watching. Melissa and Spencer had gotten into a car crash and now Melissa is in the hospital because—

"Yeah, Myrah?" Aunt Leah calls back as she strolls into the room.

"I need to talk to you about something." I say nervously, fingering my long, reddish-brown hair. Aunt Leah looks at me understandingly. She has pretty, crystal green eyes, pale skin, and black hair. The whole package is tied together with the perfect hourglass figure every girl wants to have.

"Is it about Aly again?" She asks. I shake my head.

"No. Not this time." I murmur. Aunt Leah looked surprised for a second.

"Well, alright." She finally says. "What's this about then?"

"There's this girl at my school," I start. "People are kinda mean to her. Like, me and my friends are mean to her." I watched as a disapproving look crossed Aunt Leah's face.

"I want to make her feel better. I kinda feel bad about being mean to her. She's done nothing wrong, like, ever. And I heard something sad about her past." I started to play with the hem of my white floral skirt.

"Whether it's writing a note and placing it into her locker or directly going up to her or whatever, just arrange somewhere where you two can meet up and where you can apologize to her. And I just want you to know I'm disappointed in you, Myrah."

"I saw that coming." I said with shame. "I'm sorry."

"Hearing you talk about you bullying her just makes me feel like I'm raising you wrong." Aunt Leah sniffles.

"But you aren't!" I assure her.

"Was it your parents? Have I been raising you any differently than they were before… You know…"

"Yes. But that's because I was four. All they taught me then was manners, abcs and 123s, what an unsafe touch was, bad and good, what not to touch, you know… The basic toddler crap." I point out. Aunt Leah nods and wipes her eyes.

"Good point." She chuckles.

"Maybe I should leave you alone?" I say. "For you to calm down?"

"That would be best." Aunt Leah responds.

I get off the couch and go upstairs to my room. A pink mess of cute stuffed animals, slutty clothing and stripper-like shoes, makeup palettes strewn everywhere, and a queen size bed with velvety sheets and a million fluffy pillows. I pulled out my iPhone and opened up iMessage. I scrolled until I found Alyssa, whose name was decorated with unicorn, kitten, rainbow, and heart emojis at her request. I clicked on it and typed 'hey girl' into the message bar and then hit send.

I got 'OH MY GOSH HI MYRAH' in response

'Can I talk 2 u plz' I type, hands shaking.

'KK what about' She responds.

I hesitate before typing 'I'm lesbian'

'Oh um ok?' Alyssa texts back. Oh, what the fuck? Give me a sign, for Pete's sake!

'Oh my gosh who is the lucky girl plz tell me I'll keep secrets' She responds. I don't know if I should tell her or not.

'Ooh is it Andromeda' Alyssa tries me.

'Fuck no she's just not like cute or anything you know' I type, anticipation building in my stomach. Will she get the hint?

'Waaaait is it Essence the weird chick!' Alyssa types.

'Lol noooo I mean she's got a nice rack I guess but absolutely not' I say, my heart thundering in my chest.

'Pleeeeeeeeease Myrah tell meeeeeeeeee' Alyssa texts to me.

'Wait nvm baby is texting me can I ttyl' She texts back before I can even hit send on the message I had ready for her. Damn it.

'Yeah sure go on ttyl xoxo' I simply type. Good job Derek. You want nothing to do with who Alyssa is on the inside! You just wanna get your hands on that beautiful ass of hers. That beautiful, beautiful ass.

'Byeeeeeee xoxo' Alyssa types. I throw my phone down onto my bed and bury my face into a fluffy white pillow. I pick my phone up again and reread the message I was gonna send Alyssa. I'm no Shakespeare, but I'm pretty sure it would be super romantic and immediately capture Alyssa's heart—or scare her away. Is text speak romantic?!

So this is hard for me to say but the lucky girl is u Aly ILYSM and I mean it a lot u don't deserve that cum sucker Derek u deserve better because u r beautiful and amazing and you mean the world to me u r my BFF and I want you 2 b my bae b my gf Aly plz I luv u I will treat u like the amazing princess u r xoxo

I turned off my phone and plugged it into the charger on my bedside table. I lay down in the mess of stuffed animals and pillows till at least a second later Aunt Leah knocked on my door.

"Dinner time!" She called. I pushed aside all the fluffy animals, pillows, and sheets.

A few minutes later I was sitting across from Aunt Leah at the table, eating a chicken Caesar salad and sipping on an ice water. I popped a dressing-covered tomato into my mouth and decided to pipe up about the texts. I slammed my fork down.

"I came out to Aly!" I proudly announced. Aunt Leah's eyes brightened and she squealed, pulling me closer to hug me.

"So what? Is she your girlfriend now?!" She asked. My smile faltered.

"No. I didn't tell her she's the one. She kept thinking I wanted Andromeda or Essence. I kept my guard up. So stupid, right?"

"No, it's not, you clammed up, that's all. You were just nervous. When the time is right, you'll get some more confidence. You'll get the girl." Aunt Leah assures me. The doorbell chimes and Aunt Leah rises to her feet, grinning.

"Speaking of getting the girl!" She sing songs, running to the door to answer it.

"Baby!" A high pitched voice cheers when Aunt Leah opens the door. I turn around in time to see Aunt Leah making out with her girlfriend Victoria. I watched them for a moment. Aunt Leah fisted Victoria's bleach blond hair as their tongues fought each other's for dominance. Two young women kissing, getting physical. Something I wish I had with Alyssa.

When Victoria pulls away, she drags a big suitcase inside the door. I jump from my seat and run up to hug Victoria. She welcomes my embrace, the smell of Juicy Couture perfume wafting around me. Victoria, better known as Tori, is a beautiful blond with deep blue eyes and a slender body. She's been Aunt Leah's girlfriend since middle school, about twenty years or so of dating.

"Hey Myrah! How's it going! Oh! Are you finally with Alyssa?" Tori cheers. Super enthusiastic like I remember.

"No, not yet. We were close to that tonight but I got nervous." I explain. Tori pats me on the shoulder.

"That's okay. Asking someone out is a little tough. You'll get the hang of it." She assures me.

Tori comes over every so often to stay the week or so. In that time frame, we all go out and have fun with each other. The mall is Tori's favorite spot to go to.

Aunt Leah grabbed Tori's suitcase and started to roll it upstairs to her room. Tori then started to ask me about my powers. She's actually not a Manipulator, but knows just about everything there is to know about Manipulators.

"Have they been easy to control?" She asks.

"Yeah. Although if I'm home and it's that time of month they can go off for no reason."

"Hormones control them mostly." Tori explains. I nod. I'm not paying attention, of course.

Aunt Leah finally comes down the stairs.

"You're just in time for dinner!" She smiles. Tori shakes her head.

"I already had dinner." She says. Aunt Leah nods and Tori sits down next to her.

"So, Myrah. Tell me about Alyssa again." Tori started off. We spent the rest of the night talking about relationships, school, and shopping. Later as I was getting ready for bed, I heard something coming from the other room. I slid out of bed, dragged my feet all the way to the door as I opened it, and walked to Aunt Leah's room.

Cries of "yes baby, yes," and "right there! Yes right THERE!" Floated out of the room. The door was cracked a bit and I peeked in. Tori was sitting on Aunt Leah's face, panties off and moaning. Aunt Leah had her own breast pulled out of the cup of her pink bra and was playing with it. Face burning, I ran back into my room, panting. I laid down in my bed and reached for my phone. I needed to take my mind off of the lesbian sex thing. I plugged in my earbuds and hit shuffle on the new Melanie Martinez album Cry Baby. The song "Mad Hatter" began and I settled down. I decided to do something I was deathly afraid of doing.

I looked over the message one more time and hit send. The little bubble appeared on screen, displaying the message I sent to Alyssa. I hoped. And I waited. And I fell asleep, listening as "Cake" finished playing and "Sippy Cup" started.

Blood still stains when the sheets are washed.

Sex don't sleep when the lights are off.

Kids are still depressed when you dress them up.

And syrup is still syrup in a sippy cup.

I drifted off to sleep. I started dreaming. I was in a field, snow blanketed across the rolling hills as far as the eye would see. Pine trees in the distance had bits of snow and icicles hanging of the branches. Gentle flurries fell around me. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It was so peaceful and sweet. When I blinked, Essence was standing in front of me in her normal clothing. Her face was streaked with tears.

"We can have it all, Myrah." She coos. Her voice is frosty and sharp. She's annoyed at me.

"What do you mean?" I ask. My voice is barely a whisper.

"If you would cut the bullshit and quit treating me like an idiot, this world could belong to us!" She snaps. Essence balls her hands up into fists and then opens them. She's controlling small snowstorms in her hands. Her eyes glow a pale blue. Essence is a Manipulator.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" I shout. "I would've been there for you!"

"You think I would tell the bitch who made my life miserable since fucking pre-K?" Essence shoots back. She laughs hysterically, tears streaming down her face. "I don't have anything! You point that out to me everyday! You think I'll trust you?!"

"I'm sorry, Essence!" I scream.

"Fight me, bitch! Show me who you are! Show me how heartless you can be!" Essence spits.

Without thinking I scream, ball up my fist where an icicle appears for me. I throw it like a dart and it sinks through Essence's forehead like a hot knife through butter. She collapses on the ground and I hear whispers. The snow around me picks up and turns into a blizzard. I hear Essence laughing again and then a shrill scream as Essence explodes in a blue light.

I wake up drenched in sweat. My clock says 5:00 am. Two hours before I need to get up for school. I won't be able to fall back asleep and I know it. Essence appeared really upset at me. I admit, I have been giving her shit since just about forever. I decided to do something about it.

I am seriously going to change.


	9. She's Okay

CHAPTER NINE

DEREK

Today at school Alyssa was acting strange. Whenever I reached over to hold her hand, the look on her face was one that someone would have on if their great ancestors were offended. When I asked her what was wrong, she snapped at me. Oh, shit. What've I done to her? Was it something I said? Is she on her period or something? I was trying to get her out of her bad mood but it just didn't go away. To add to that, Myrah and North didn't sit with the group at lunch. They sat with Essence. Essence looked happy to have North around, hesitant for a moment when Myrah sat down, but the worried look disappeared as everyone started talking together. Laughing like best friends. Smiling.

"Aly, why isn't Myrah sitting near us?" I ask my girlfriend. She rolls her eyes and puts her fork down.

"If I knew, I'd ask if I can make her better." She squeaks. Her voice is high, but still has anger in it.

"Baby, are you doing okay? Did I say something wrong?" I ask her calmly.

"No." She snaps. I feel bad. Whatever I did to her, it isn't good.

"I love you." I whisper in her ear, reaching over to hug her. She pushes me away and crosses her arms. Tears well up in my eyes and I think of happy things to make them go away.

"I'll do anything for you Aly." I whimper. "Just tell me what I have to do and I'll do it."

"Leave me the fuck alone." Alyssa says, starting to cry. "You don't really love me and you know it. You just like my pictures."

"Aly!" I gasp. But maybe it was true. I needed to show her real love. All I really was loving and giving attention to were the pics she sent me. Alyssa's shoulders shook as she cried and all of the sudden Myrah was running over to her.

"What the hell did you do to her?" She spits.

"I don't know! She's been mad at me ever since this morning!" I stammer. Myrah's eyes might as well have been balls of fire.

"Again, I'm gonna say this. WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!" Myrah screams. The lunch monitor, Miss Jackson, runs over. She puts her hands on Myrah's shoulders and looks at me, then Alyssa.

"What happened here?" She says. Myrah begins throwing me under the bus.

"He does not love his girlfriend! I, however, think he should care about her more." Myrah begins strongly but ends weakly. My entire heart stops for a second.

"You guys are boyfriend and girlfriend?" Miss Jackson asks. Alyssa and I nod. "Well you start treating her like it." She spits and walks away. Myrah has sauntered off.

"Aly…" I start. Our friends begin to walk away from our lunch table, whispering and watching us as they walk away. She eats a forkful of macaroni and swallows.

"What do you want Derek?" She finally says.

"Could you please tell me what's wrong? I want to help you. Please Alyssa." I say calmly. Alyssa's face is slack. I reach over and brush away her blond hair from her face. She reaches over and grasps my hand and holds it to her heart.

"It's… Do ya really love me?" She asks me. I move in really close and hugged her. Alyssa's skin is freezing cold. Like a Manipulator's. Impossible. I'm pretty sure I'm the last one left in the U.S.

"I do baby." She smiles. She leans in and lightly places her lips on mine. We make out before we hear someone yell,

"Get a room, will ya?"


	10. Almost Netflix and Chill

CHAPTER TEN

ALYSSA

When I got home that afternoon, I was home alone. I'm fine with that. I plopped down on the couch and turned on the television. I clicked my way to Netflix and then clicked on American Horror Story: Freakshow. I started to watch the episode where Twisty found a "babysitter" for the children. While Twisty killed Troy, I picked up my phone and started to reread the message Myrah sent me. I really questioned whether I love Derek or not. He asked me to send him nudes frequently and I wondered if he loved me for more than just my body. I sniffled and reached over for the box of tissues, dabbing at my eyes with a wad of Kleenex tissues.

I tried to focus on the television again. I watched as Twisty chased Bonnie away from Troy's dead body. Something about that scene calmed me down. I didn't know what it was. Maybe it was the fact that I could be a killer too and I wouldn't need any weapons. Just my mind and some energy from deep within. I promised myself I wouldn't become something like that. At least not for a while.

My natural curiosity took over and I hit pause on the television. I opened my palm and concentrated. A gentle blue aura filled the room and suddenly there was a poof. I opened my eyes and looked at the small little blizzard I was controlling in my hand. I smiled and closed my hand. The blizzard diminished and all was calm. All of the sudden the doorbell rang and I perked up. I paused the show and then jumped up to answer the door. My heart nearly dropped to my stomach when Derek was standing there. He had a bouquet of daisies in his hand. His face was sympathetic.

"Hello, baby." Derek coos.

"Hi cutie!" I say nervously.

"Can I come in?" Derek says, and I notice blush creeping up his face. I nod and step aside, beckoning him inside. I shut the door behind him.

"What are you doing he—" I say, turning around to face him. I'm interrupted mid-sentence by Derek's lips crashing onto mine. I hear the bouquet of flowers hitting the floor gently and he wraps his arms around me.

"Derek." I moan into his mouth. He pulls away, leaving me conflicted. I'm not sure if I liked his kiss or not. I finally decided I didn't like it. I pretended I did for the sake of sanity.

"Alyssa, I'm sorry for everything I did wrong. I came over to make it up to you." Derek says, his breath dancing across my skin. I pretend to like the peppermint smell. Except I hate it.

"Come here, now." I growl, jumping up to wrap my legs around his waist. What the hell am I doing? I inhale the smell of his shoulder as he carries me over to the couch. Axe and chocolate. Hate it. His grip on my waist tightens and his free hand gropes my butt cheek from under my skirt. He plops me down on my ass on the soft cushions of the couch and starts kissing me again. I cup his jaw as we kiss and all the sudden he pops his slimy tongue inside my mouth. I used to love the feeling and the taste. I'm just disgusted now. I try not to choke on his tongue as we French kiss.

"Know what I'm gonna do when we're old enough?" Derek whispers in my ear as he starts kneading my ass. He pulls my skirt off, revealing my pink Aerie panties.

"What?" I say breathily. If I act aroused, will he quit this shit faster?

"I'm gonna pull you under the covers with me, strip you of all your clothes, slip my cock into you, and start thrusting. Harder. Harder. Till you're screaming my name and grabbing onto me." He purrs. You're trying to sound sexy? You fail.

"Oh, Derek!" I cry out as he slips his hands down my panties and teases my sensitive areas. It doesn't feel all that good, actually. I'm a little ticked off.

"Yeah, Alyssa. Damn, I have such a boner right now." Derek grunts. Eeew…

"I wanna suck your dick." I say to him, trying not to let my voice waiver. In literally no time, his penis is hanging out of his basketball shorts. What the hell? What am I getting myself into? The moment he placed the head at my lips, his cell phone rang.

He answered it and was talking to someone for a while as he shoved his dick back into his pants. RELIEF! He hung up and sighed.

"Sorry, baby. I gotta go home!" Derek says, giving me a light peck on the lips. "I love you."

"I love you too." I say. I watch him walk out the front door. I am kinda happy he's leaving because I think I've reached a conclusion. I think I love Myrah.

Ever since kindergarten Myrah has been my best friend and I've been with her through everything. We played together at recess, shared snacks, and slept real close to each other during nap time. For a while, we were super close. Myrah and I had a fight about something stupid one day and we weren't friends for a while. Her new best friend was Christin Claire. They did everything together. I was pretty upset at Myrah.

A few months later Christin got sick of Myrah and Myrah ran back to me. I had a piece of me back.

I won't deny I love Myrah. I'm just a little concerned. If we do start dating, how will we come out to everyone?

My thoughts were cut short by my iPhone playing a ringtone to let me know I had gotten a text. _Myrah._

 _Hey Aly,_ the message read.

 _Heya Myrah,_ I responded.

 _Can I talk 2 u plz,_ Myrah texted back. My heart picked up the pace.

 _Yeah what about?_ I responded. I got a message back a millisecond later.

 _U and me…_ Myrah texted.

 _About that,_ I texted her, feeling my face get hot and my eyes brim with tears.

 _What?_ Myrah says. I type my message broken-heartedly.

 _We should just be friends… I'm sorry… Believe me Myrah I love you more than anybody… But I don't wanna hurt Derek… Not yet at least. He does something unforgiving and we're done and I'll run to you K? But for now, it's for the best… I'm sorry… Please forgive me…_

 _I don't understand…_ Myrah says. A new text bubble appears under her message. _He's dangerous, Aly! Don't think I don't know about the pictures he asks u for!_ Then a frowny face. I start crying.

 _That was our little secret for Derek and I only._

 _No more keeping secrets… There's something else you're hiding and I know it… Please tell me… I don't want you getting hurt,_ Myrah texts.

 _Fine._ I respond.

 _I'm a Manipulator,_ I type.

Myrah doesn't respond for minutes on end. I start getting worried and I'm freaking myself out. I'm just about to text her again to check on her when she responds.

 _You're serious?_ Myrah responds.

 _Dead serious._

 _Well…_ Myrah responds. She says something else in a new text bubble.

 _I'm a Manipulator too._


	11. Your Goddamn Friend

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

 **NORTH**

Being Essence's friend feels better than anything in the world. I know she can trust me, and she knows she can trust me. Myrah has started hanging out with us on a regular basis, and we both haven't stayed in contact with Derek and Alyssa. Since befriending Essence, she's pretty much opened up to the two of us about everything. She's told us about the death of her family, her abusive grandmother, and her battle with depression. Damn. Essence has been through so much. Makes my life look good.

I loved taking the time to get to know Essence. Did you know she likes Panic! At The Disco? She owns all their albums. Did you know she enjoys riding the train only to see the cocky people who don't hold the railings fall on their asses? That one made my day. Bet you didn't know Essence used to do makeovers with her mother when she was still around. Now ya do!

Essence is absolutely amazing. I wish I could make her mine. Right here, right now. Set her on the lunch table, pull her panties aside, slip my fingers inside her, listen to her moaning my name as I work on her… Goddamn it North, calm the fuck down. Jesus. Above all, I want to be able to tell her about being a Manipulator. I'm hoping she would be accepting and care about me as much as I care about her. I want her to be able to trust me, to confide in me, to open up to me…

So you can imagine the surprise and relief on my face when one day Essence said, "North? Myrah? You guys are my friends, right? 'Cause I've kinda got a secret that nobody can, like, ever know. But I want you to know it because I don't like hiding stuff." She started habitually finger-brushing her hair. Myrah, Essence, and I were sitting at a secluded table in the cafeteria, and no one was anywhere near us. Essence drew a potato chip from her bag and popped it in her mouth, waiting for a response. Myrah and I both nod, waiting for her to tell us what was going on. Essence looked scared, like she was about to cry something wicked and I wanted to crawl over to hug her but she regained her composure before I could do anything. Myrah sipped her Coca-Cola thoughtfully.

"I'm a… I'm.. I'm a Ma… Ma… Mmm.. I'm a…" Essence stuttered and tripped over her words. The suspense was starting to kill me. Tears brimmed in her eyes and they fell onto her cheeks delicately. She fidgeted with the collar of her shirt nervously and I felt inclined to reach out and lightly brush her hand but I didn't. Instead I patted her shoulder from across the table and suggested something else.

"How about we all say a secret that we have all together? That way it won't be so awkward." Myrah chuckles nervously and my heart thunders in my rib cage. Once the words leave my mouth, there's going to be no taking them back. I'm about to reveal my biggest secret to my crush and friend. Here goes nothing.

"On the count of three, we all say it, okay?" Myrah says, voice shaking. What has she got to hide? That her shoes aren't really Prada, they're Gucci? She's hiding nothing compared to what I am. I inhale deeply.

"Okay." I murmur.

"One, two, three…" Myrah counts. Essence blurted it out first, then me, then Myrah. After the words had left all our mouths, relief and worry hung in the air like thick fog. We had all said the same thing.

Essence burst into tears, but this time, they were tears of joy. I got up from my spot and sat down next to her, wrapping my arms around her slender frame. She sobs into my shoulder and I sigh. Her chest presses into me and the temperature of her skin matches mine. Essence's arms wrap around my torso and she stays there, sniveling and softly chuckling. Myrah joins us in a group hug. Skin cold as ice meeting in a friendly, welcoming hug. Myrah started cracking up and you could tell it felt good for her to get that sort of thing off her chest. The bell rang and Myrah broke away from our group hug, disposing of her lunch tray as she skipped away. But Essence climbed onto me, nuzzling my neck with her nose. She then looked up at me and sighed.

"I'm so sorry… I'm just a little screwed up, you know?" Essence brushed some tears off her cheeks.

"It's okay… These kinds of things are hard to talk about. Trust me, I know." I say assuringly.

"Yeah." She says, mustering a smile.

"And, can I just say you look really good, even though you've been crying?" I say shyly.

Essence then smiles and reaches up, hugging me tighter against her torso. Her chest presses into mine and I start getting all excited. The bell rings and kids start filing out of the cafeteria, heading towards their classes. Essence smiles at me one more time and grabs onto my hands, cold radiating off of them.

"Thanks." She chirps. She then scurries off, heading to class. Relief hangs in the air, and I feel free inside. I have to stop myself from skipping like a little girl when I go to class. 5th period and 6th period were pretty normal, but 7th period was just weird.

The room felt different and the atmosphere was funny-feeling. Essence sat on the other side of the room, furiously hammering away to complete the assignment our Social Studies teacher had given us. Myrah sat two away tapped her pink fingernails against her desk, most likely nervous about something. Derek and Alyssa sat in the back, scowling at Essence. What're they even doing? I noticed something odd about the way Alyssa looked. Her eyes were sorta glowing this dark grey color. Her head twitched. She tapped her fingers wildly. What's going on?!

Alyssa then rose from her seat and made her way over to Essence's desk, shoes clicking against the floor tiles. Her eyes glowed even more. She grabbed Essence by the hair and slammed her face into her desk. Essence cried out for help and I sprung out of my seat. Alyssa didn't show any signs of stopping. Essence wailed in agony, trying to get Alyssa away from her. The continuous bang, bang, bang sound resonated through my head. Essence screamed and begged for help. The teacher returned from one of his errands and students screamed, backing away into a corner. I leapt over to Alyssa and tackled her, pulling Essence out of her grasp. Alyssa tries turning on me and I almost used my powers on her. Instead I pinned her hands behind her back and the teacher practically dragged her out of my grasps as he lead her, kicking and thrashing, to the principal's office. Derek looked horrified. Tears filled my eyes as I rushed over to check on Essence. She had her head down on her desk, breathing heavily and sobbing softly.

"Essence?" I ask, my voice barely a whisper.

"Go away. Just go away." Essence says a little stronger. Myrah runs over and stands behind me, worried.

"Essence, are you hurt?" I say, feeling helpless. Essence growls and starts crying all over again. Myrah looks like she wants to do something, but she holds back. Derek joins us and his hands shake. He looks so pained.

"Leave me alone! It hurts!" Essence whimpers. Her voice is muffled, but it sounds different, like there's something in her mouth.

"Essence, show me where it hurts, rather what hurts, please!" I beg, starting to get desperate. I notice that her desk starts getting red stuff on it. It takes me a moment to realize that it's her own blood.

"Essence!" I cry out. She finally lifts her head. Her nose and her mouth are bleeding. The blood is spilling off her desk onto her clothes. Essence cries and covers her face. I start screaming at people to get her water, get some napkins, get tissues, hurry it up, guys! Derek went to the cafeteria to one, get some water bottles and some salt, and two, get Essence a new outfit that would fit her from the guidance counselor. Myrah grabbed extra tissue boxes from under the sink and some random kid who idolized me handed me a full roll of paper towels then scampered off, freaking out that he had helped me. Essence sobbed and I soaked a stack of paper towels under the faucet in the sink. I rushed back over and Essence took them from me, placing the soggy paper towels over her face. She sighed and hung her head, lightly sniffling. I rubbed her back and Derek came running back into the room with three water bottles, a pair of jeans and a My Chemical Romance t shirt, and a salt shaker. That's when some students started filing out to get help from another teacher.

A few minutes later, Essence was bent over the sink, gargling salt water, holding her nose with a wad of tissues, and wearing a new outfit. The teacher had come back and cleaned up her desk and comforted her. He thanked Myrah, Derek, and I for helping her while he "dealt with" Alyssa. Alyssa had been suspended. Essence looked miserable. Derek had walked over just minutes before and apologized about a million times and asked to be friends with her. Once Essence had stopped spitting out blood and her nose bleed was semi-controlled, I waltzed over to her and wrapped her in a hug. But it wasn't like the hug we shared earlier. She wasn't into this one. She didn't wrap her arms around me. She tried squirming out of my arms. Fear returned to my eyes.

"Essence?" I whimper. Essence looks pissed off beyond belief.

"She's your goddamn friend, North." Essence mutters, grabbing her binder and leaving just as the bell rang. I felt like someone just punched me in the stomach. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried not to think about it.

I just saw my friend beat up the love of my life.

My world spins. I shouldn't have let that happen. I could have used my powers on her. She would've stopped right then and there. But that would've meant I'd have to kill everyone who was a witness. I grit my teeth and rush out the door, Essence's words ringing through my ears.

 _She's your goddamn friend, North._

Not anymore, I think to myself. That wasn't Alyssa in there. I think I know who it is, but I'll need to confirm my suspicions. When I get home that night, I write a note before doing any of my homework. It's addressed to Essence. I'll give it to her tomorrow.

This could literally change everything that we think we know about ourselves


	12. Lying Is The Most Fun

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

 **ESSENCE**

I storm inside my house, tears smearing my vision and making it blurry. I felt hopeless and helpless. I could have fought back. I didn't, I acted like a pussy and got my face smashed in. And what I said to North… I feel terrible. I love him and I don't know why I said that. I fucked up.

Delilah sits passed out on the couch, a bottle of Jack Daniels sitting comfortably between her hip and the couch cushion. Her lipstick is smudged and her dress is disheveled. Good. She won't see what I'm about to do. I head to the kitchen. I open one drawer near the stove. They aren't there. I start furiously opening and digging through every one of the drawers to find them. I need them. Finally, I give up on the drawers and start searching through the cabinets. The first one I opened. They were hidden in a cooking pot. I reached in and pulled out the plain white bottle. The pills rattled inside as I stood and shut the cabinet. I tucked the bottle of pills away behind my binder and school-assigned laptop. Good. Delilah normally takes the pills every day, as the effects don't last for very long. Especially if she's been partying or drinking. She'll look like an old hag once she wakes up.

I seize the opportunity to grab a few strips of bacon, a handful of Cheetos, a small bag of potato chips, a tub of leftover pasta, and an apple. I sneak upstairs and watch YouTube on my laptop for what could have been three hours until I heard noises downstairs. Delilah's awake. I hide the empty snack containers in my backpack and throw my apple core out the window. I wipe the remaining Cheeto dust off my mouth and continue watching YouTube.

 _Top of the mornin' to ya, laddies! My name is Jacksepticeye!_

 _Screw you, Billy!_

 _When all else fails, Segway Steve!_

 _SPEED IS KEY!_

I hear Delilah shuffling around downstairs, taking an aspirin to deal with her headache, heading to the mirror to see how bad the damage is. I pause the video I'm watching to hear Delilah's reaction to the missing pills. A few seconds later I hear the clanging of pots being thrown across the floor and Delilah trashing around, throwing stuff out of cabinets. Silverware skids across the floor, containers hit the walls, chip bags make loud rustling sounds as they hit the ground. Delilah screams in frustration and next thing I knew, I heard her footsteps coming up the stairs. I inhaled and hit play on my YouTube video. Delilah barged into my room and I flinched. She was seething with anger.

"Essence, darling!" Delilah said with fake pleasantness in her voice. "Um… Do you happen to know where my pills are?"

"Which ones?" I ask, playing dumb.

"The white bottle, no label." Delilah sounds desperate. Her bleach-blond hair has little grey streaks, her skin is slightly wrinkled. She sways side to side, still under the effects of the alcohol.

"I thought you had them?" I ask her.

"No! I don't!" Delilah shouts. She panics a little. "I had them hidden away somewhere! I need that medicine! That's seriously important, Essence! If you have it hiding somewhere, I swear to God I will kill you and no one will ever find your body! Got it? Good!" That's when she storms downstairs and keeps frantically searching for the white bottle of pills. I glance over at my backpack, smiling and then I glance at the door.

 _I chime in with a haven't you people ever heard of closing the goddamn door?!_

I did it. Hopefully that will weaken her enough for me to over power her, if not destroy her completely. Delilah didn't ask about the cut on my upper lip or the new outfit or the bloody clothes I had sitting around in a triple bag. Some grandma! I simply started on my homework and went to be normally. Delilah's crying carried under the door and I smirked. Maybe I could talk to North the next day.

I found a note in my locker the next day. It said, To Essence, From North. I freaked out inside. What did he want? I opened up the folded piece of lined paper. A few words were printed on it in black pen.

 _Essence. This is crucial stuff right here. I don't know if you're going to talk to me, especially after yesterday, but this is important. I need to know if Delilah has any… Medications… Any unusual pills that she takes often. Perhaps, black in color? Get back to me as soon as possible, as this could change our lives in an instant. Love, North._

That's when I broke into a run, binder and laptop in tow. I ran and ran and ran until I crashed into a person and totally fell on my ass. North looked down at me, mortified. He helped me up to my feet and gazed into my eyes with caring and compassion.

"Did you get my note?" He asked lowly. I nodded, grabbed his hand, and lead him to my locker. I put in the combination and opened the door. It didn't take much to find the pills. The bottle was sitting right in my backpack. North froze. I slowly uncap the bottle and show him what's inside. North shudders and nods slowly.

"Essence, you're in danger." He whispers. He's moved in real close to me. My breath catches in my chest.

"What do you mean?" I whimper. North points to the pills.

"They're pills that… Well... Shit… Have you heard of the Black Ice?" He's getting flustered.

I nod carefully. The Black Ice Manipulators are Manipulators that have had their powers tainted. They are evil beings and pretty much in the only stories Manipulators are ever told when they are kids. Black Ice Manipulators are dangerous and show no mercy to their victims. The stories tell of a Queen who started off as a happy little girl who was a Manipulator and her life changed forever one day. She became an all powerful Black Ice Manipulator, and ever Manipulator's worst nightmare. She can posses people, like a demon.

"Delilah is one…" North tells me. I've been denying it for years, but I finally accepted it when I was eleven. "Those pills give her power and keep her young so Black Ice Manipulators will be more willing to follow her orders. Without them, she will become old and sick."

"I stole them from her when she was drunk." I told North. North comes in even closer and hugs me tight.

"You're in danger Essence, you had no idea what she's capable of. I just… I just don't want you to get hurt." My heart flutters up against my ribcage. I tighten my arms around his waist and he slowly but surely backs me up against my locker. I gasp quietly and look up at him confidently. North gazes down at me lovingly. God fucking damn… He strokes my cheek gently and leans down to bury his face in my neck. He quickly straightened himself up a and gazed at me again.

"Well, you have no clue what I'm capable of either." I say sassily. North's eyes fill up with admiration and humor. North presses himself into me. He towers over me, making me feel small. He gently grabs my face and kisses the top of my scruffy hair. I shiver under his touch. He slides his fingers from my ear to my chin and smiles. The school bell rings and it's time to go to first period. I slam my locker door and tuck a nonexistent strand of hair behind my ear. He backs away from me and waves goodbye to me as we branch off in different directions, heading towards our classes. All first period, rather than paying attention to my science teacher, I was thinking about North. I don't care about the motherfucking Periodic Table. I want North. I scribble his name in bubble letters on the last page of my science notebook and surround it in a heart.

Once lunch rolled around again, Derek sat with Myrah, North, and I. He honestly felt terrible about Alyssa and what had happened the previous day. He was very nice to me, which was surprising. North kept looking over at me lecherously, but I didn't mind it. I acted on it, stretching my arms over my head. My t shirt rose up and showed a peek of skin above my belt. His eyes widened and he put his milk carton to his mouth to hide his smile. Myrah and Derek sat to the side talking about an assignment in class and I just sat there, silently flirting with North.

At one point, North leaned over and whispered, "You're driving me nuts…" a smile playing at his lips.

"Then it's working." I tease, flashing a bit of the waistband of my panties. North moans in my ear and I gasp, almost spilling my Gatorade everywhere. He chuckles and slides his hand over my hip slowly. I'm sure that by now my face is cherry red with blush. Myrah and Derek start into a conversation with us about the weird substitute teacher in Math and once it ended and the bell was ringing, North shifted his hand to my thigh. I bristled up and squeaked. He removed it after a few seconds. He flashed a teasing smile back at me when he got up to leave. I leaned my head up against the wall and covered my face with my hands.

 _What have I gotten myself into?_


	13. Some Next-Level Planning Shit

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

 **MYRAH**

Since I'm now friends with Essence, I wanted to know why Alyssa did what she did. When I got home that day, I immediately got my phone and texted Alyssa

 _Why'd u hurt Essence?!_

A response popped up: _This is Alyssa's dad. She can't use her phone because she is grounded. Not just for hurting you guys' friend Essence and getting expelled. I found some pictures that I need to talk to her about. Anyway, she'll be able to use her phone again next month, when she's not grounded. Sorry!_

I clamped my mouth shut. He found out. I can only imagine what else he found out. What if he's a gay-hater? Or he tells a bunch of people I'm a Manipulator? Shit. What've I done? I can just imagine Alyssa's dad reprimanding her. _Alyssa Nicole Neva, you can't ever have a phone with this behavior! You can't be friends with a gay girl! You can't date her!_

I need to calm down. I head to my room and close the door. In the silence of the house, my breathing seems to be the only noise audible. I close my eyes, gathering all the pent up stress from the week and just letting it all gather in a mass of energy. My palms tingle, the room fills with the familiar bite of a wild winter storm. The wind that wasn't there before howls and snaps at my clothes and hair. When I open my eyes, snowflakes swirl around me like I'm living in the middle of a snow globe. I sweep my hand to the right and they attract to my hand like magnet to metal. Sweeping my hand to the left made the snowflakes follow my hand. I clapped and the snowflakes practically exploded into a blizzard. They darted around my room and the wind whipped up. I spread my hands apart towards the sky and the snow dissolves. The mini snow drifts that had gathered on the carpet were gone. There was no more wind. Everything was calm, including me. I felt much happier and enlightened. I flopped on my bed and pulled out my laptop, surfing the web until I heard a desperate knocking at the front door. I rushed down the stairs and answered the door, taken aback by who was there.

"How did you get here?" I asked them. Essence, Derek, and North stood in the doorway, Essence looking frightened.

"I know your address, remember?" North says matter-of-factly. "Also, we need to talk to you, now." His voice was urgent and Essence was tucked under his arm, hugging him tightly. I nodded slowly and let them in. They all sat down on the couch and I perched myself on the arm of the lounge chair. North stroked Essence's hair and snuggled up close to her.

"We found out that Essence's grandma, Delilah, she's… She's part of the Black Ice…" North murmurs, holding Essence close. She snivels and nuzzles his chest gently. I felt my heart skip a beat. I didn't think the stories were true. I always thought they were fairy tales that Manipulator parents told their kids in order to keep them out of trouble. They have to be pranking me.

"You're lying." I snap. "That's just a bedtime story from our childhood." North shakes his head.

"She has the Black Pills." He says, dead seriousness in his voice. The Black Pills are given to Elders to keep them irresistible. It makes it easier to get people do things for you and make offers and deals and such.

"Oh…" I say, wringing my hands in my lap. Essence grasps onto North tighter and he wraps her up in a big embrace. "Oh, I… Whoa…" My mouth and throat goes dry. I notice Derek going pale in the corner of the couch.

"Derek, you can't tell anyone about this. Please, this could—" Essence starts. Derek holds up one hand to silence her. North gives him a pointed, warning glare.

"I'm a Manipulator too, okay? I wouldn't tell anyone." Derek snaps.

"As long as we're admitting things, can I say something here?" North asks shakily after a few minutes of silence.

"Whatever." I deadpan. I fiddle with the zipper on my sweatshirt.

"Well, I've been lying to you guys. All the super cool things I've told you about are lies." Derek and I look up at him, eyes wide. North looks ashamed. Essence grabs onto him tighter.

"I've got something to say, too." I murmur. "I'm… Fuck… Guys, I'm gay…" Everyone looks at me with surprise on their faces. "And… Oh my god… I'm sorry… I like Aly… I'm sorry Derek…"

"WHAT?!" Derek shouts at me. I flinch a little. "WHAT THE HELL, MYRAH?"

"I'm sorry! But I can't help it! Have you FUCKING seen her or even gotten to know her?! Or have you just been asking her for pictures all these months?!" I snap. Derek growls and covers his face with his hands. Essence lets go of North and reaches out to comfort Derek. His hand shoots out and he slaps her across the face, the crack of his hand against her cheek resounding off the walls. North gasps and Essence grasps her cheek, mouth wide open. North gets up from his seat and when he makes his way over to Derek, he starts beating him up. They're rolling around the floor hitting, punching, and kicking each other. I back up, heart pounding up against my ribcage. Essence screams and begs for North to stop. When that doesn't work, she starts crying. All of the sudden the room filled with the sound of Essence screaming, enough at the top of her lungs and shooting a blast of ice into the air. It exploded and shards rained down on the two fighting boys. North crawled off Derek and gazed at Essence with admiration and concern.

"Essence, I…" North started.

"Stop it." Essence whimpered. She turned away from him. North brought himself to his feet and carefully approached Essence. He touched her shoulder and she jerked away from him. North looked utterly embarrassed and upset. Derek crawled away from him and closer to me, even though he looked pissed off. We sat and watched North and Essence.

"Does… Does it still hurt?" North tried. Essence nodded and found her seat on the couch again. "Can I see?" North asked carefully. Essence brushed aside the curtain of snowy and greyish hair that hid her eye and cheek. Even from where I was sitting, I could see how red it was. There was a big handprint mark left on her pale skin. Derek shuddered and wrapped his arms around his torso. North drew in a breath and leaned in, leaving a kiss on her cheek. Essence's eyes widened and brightened. She blushed a little and started fidgeting with the ring on her pinkie which, by the way, was way too big to be on that finger.

"So… That happened…" I interrupted. Essence nodded shyly and melted into the cushions. North had a look on his face that said, Oh yeah. I did that. I had to crack a smile at that.

"Should we… Go?" North asked. Essence snuggled next to him, absentmindedly humming the tune to "There's a Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered, Honey, You Just Haven't Thought Of It Yet".

"No, no, it's fine." I insist. But Derek said that he wanted to go and stormed out without another word.

"Jesus Christ." Essence chuckled. North smiled at her.

"Are you two… Like, together?" I asked. Essence shook her head.

"No! No! No… No way..." North responded, maybe a little too harshly. Essence looked a bit offended and slumped into the cushions. North looked like he immediately regretted saying that. Essence chewed her fingernails nervously.

"Anyone else absolutely hate that stupid school?" Essence immediately blurted out, changing the subject.

"Me." North and I called out at the same time. Honestly, I'd love nothing better than to just stand in the middle of the hallway, shoot a blast of ice, and freeze the students and teachers alive in their classrooms. Listen to the crackle of ice reforming, people begging for help, have a sense of power over something for once in my damned life. Me and the others would finally rule the world. Or at least a tiny bit of it.

"We could always, you know, take care of that… You know you want that." North says, mischief in his eyes. Essence smiles and perks up.

"I know. Just… How would we stage it? Where would we go afterwards? What would we do? This some next level planning shit here!" She seems excited and exhilarated. North smiles lovingly at her.

"I've got some ideas here…" I jump in, grabbing a stack of paper and a few pens. I beckon them over to the kitchen table and we spent the next few hours scribbling out plans in Sharpies and colorful pens. Luckily, Aunt Leah and Victoria were out to a Red Sox game and a dinner afterwards and wouldn't be back till late night. Convenient. Essence and North left around 8:30 pm, their share of plans tucked under their arms. Later that night, I texted Derek about the plan and warned him not to tell Alyssa yet. I would tell her about it when she returned to school.

This is the start of a new life, a new breed of insane, and a realm that's all our own.


	14. If It Feels Good, Tastes Good

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

 **DEREK**

So, after I stormed out completely on Myrah, Essence, and North, I moped and played Call of Duty in my room for a while. Dinner was a bag of Lays chips, because it's not like my mother was conscious or anything, and it's not like my father or siblings were home to enjoy dinner with us or anything. Around 8:40 I got a text from Myrah that took up a lot of screen. It was some sort of blueprint for an attack. I started picking up on their whole scheme. They were gonna freeze the whole school in ice and snow

 _Step One: The day of the attack, you pack your backpacks, purses, duffel bags, instrument cases, whatever with perishable food, lanterns, batteries, water, and plenty of clothing. Take it to school and keep it in your locker till the time comes._

 _Step Two: The day will go on as normal. After lunch, we take action. We will stay behind, hiding out in the bathrooms until classes start. Essence and North will take action first. They will deal with the sixth grade wing. You and I will take down the seventh grade. Alyssa will fly solo, taking down the eighth grade wing and the office and such. If she needs help, she will call us in for reinforcements. After these things are done, we will grab the bags from our locker and run away. We will continue to look for somewhere to live. Along the way, witnesses are to be "taken care of". Eventually, we hope to have the whole East Coast frozen._

 _Step Three: From there, we will take down the rest of the world, state by state. House by house, country by country. No matter how long it takes. Then we will have what is rightfully ours. Seems a little overly ambitious, doesn't it? Whatever. Fuck it. We'll see what's ours and take it._

Little parts stuck in my head. _Will take action first. We'll see what's ours and take it. Take down. Hiding out. Somewhere to live. Call us in for reinforcements._ And all of the sudden, I wanted in. The part at the bottom of the message told me not to tell Alyssa because she was in trouble for… Ahem… Something. And her dad took her phone away. She would be back on Monday.

This kind of power is all I've wanted. I've always had it, but I've just been waiting for what seems like years for the right opportunity. There's always been this secret, hidden desire to have everything, every city, every person, every house, right in the palm of my hand. Under my rule. Then and only then, will my life ever be "perfect". Screw my dad and his 23-year old mistress. Screw my slutty sister who probably is racking up more STDs than cash. Screw my brother who most likely is at a party, handing out little bags of cocaine to anyone who wants some. Screw my mom for almost never being a part of my life until I don't need her anymore. Screw everything.

So you can imagine when the next day rolled around and I went to school, how willing I was to jump into this plan. Myrah, Essence, and North were happy and showed me their contributions to the plan—routes around Boston, which ways to use our powers that wouldn't attract too much attention from other people, places we could go afterwards, etcetera, etcetera. I felt an adrenaline rush. We were really doing this. Of course, we had to wait to see what Aly would say. If she doesn't want to, then that's her problem.

Everyone was planning all day. We sent emails and passed notes secretly during classes and chatted non-stop at lunch. Essence and North huddled together at the end of the table, listening in and contributing to the conversation. North had his arms wrapped around Essence's waist, looking like he never wanted to let go. If they're not already together, the attack will sure as hell make them a couple. I just know it! Leaving school that day was interesting. North had told Essence, Myrah, and I to meet him at his locker after seventh period and we did. He showed us a bunch of black pills in a plastic bag. Essence's eyes widened. North stared directly at her.

"Replace Delilah's black pills with these ones. Then give the bottle back to her." He said.

"What's going to happen? North?" Essence looked scared. North hugged her. He dropped the bag into her backpack.

"Wait and see. All you need to know is that there will be one less obstacle to take care of after she takes those." North says, his smile mischievous. He slams his locker door and hugs Essence before he leaves.

"Are you two a thing?" I blurt out. Essence sighs and starts zipping up her backpack.

"I wish." She sighs as she makes her way out the door and towards her bus. Myrah and I head towards the car dismissal area. My sister's Buick sits in the parking lot, engine rumbling, a cloud of cigarette smoke curling out the window and into the air. Myrah high fives me and we walk off towards the cars. My sister pops open the passenger door and I slide in, throwing my backpack into the empty backseat.

"Coming from work, I presume." I say.

"Damn right." Mona says. She brings the cigarette back inside the window and passes it to me. I take a long drag and hand the cigarette back to her as I blow out smoke. Mona Olwen, my older sister, was sitting next to me in a Victoria Secret Pink sweatshirt over some skimpy black lingerie. She had a skirt sitting lazily on her hips. Her curled blondish-brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, her lips were slathered in red lipstick, and a pair of Gucci sunglasses hid her pale green eyes.

"Let's get the hell home." My sister snickered, throwing the cigarette butt out of the car. "If Mom's passed out, we can break out the Sharpies again."

"Dibs on the handlebar mustache!" I called out as she put the car in reverse and drove away from the school. Truth is, Mona is actually pretty awesome. She's just a slut. She knows it. That's 'cause I keep reminding her. And she keeps reminding me that I'm dickhead. It's a mutual thing.

"Your girlfriend back at school yet?" Mona asks, popping a piece of mint gum into her mouth and passing me the pack. I shake my head and she shrugs as I dig out a stick. "That's sad."

"Yeah." I say, chewing thoughtfully. I watch buildings and businesses and bikes fly by the car window. Mona turns on the radio, and "Stressed Out" starts playing. My sister whoops and starts singing obnoxiously. I groan and cover my ears. This song is so overplayed.

Mona and I pulled into the driveway of our house and snickered. We both jumped out of the car as soon as she parked it and turned off the engine.

"I'll draw a cock on her forehead, you take care of the mustache, and we'll both do… Oh, no…" Mona murmurs as we open the door. I didn't expect to see what I saw. I dropped my backpack on the hardwood floor.

My father and the girl he's cheating with, making love on the couch, clothes spread across the floor. A horrible smell hangs in the air. The girl has long honey-blond hair, a perfect body, and brown eye makeup and smudged pink lip gloss. Mona's eyes widened and pushed me back a little. My dad turned around, swore, and started trying to cover himself up.

"Guys… Oh… Hey, honey…" Dad murmured as he started getting dressed again. His face was red with embarrassment. He tossed the girl her pink lingerie.

"Dad." Mona whispered. Her face was horrified. She made eye contact with the girl. They held each other's gaze for a few moments.

"Hey, Mona." The girl squeaked. Mona choked up a little.

"Hey, Poppy." She said quietly. Dad looked at Poppy and back at Mona, eyes wide with realisation.

"Poppy, you should go…" My dad said. "Before Dana gets home…" Poppy started to messily pull her clothing on and all of the sudden, Mom burst in through the backdoor. Perfect timing.

"Tim?" My mom said, her voice shaking. Her house keys rattled as she slowly entered the room.

"Dana…" My dad whispered.

"Kids, you better get out of here… I need to talk with your father…" My mom said quietly. Mona grabbed me by the arm and dragged me out of the house and towards the car. Mona slumped in the front seat and gripped the steering wheel so hard her knuckles turned white.

"How do you know her?" I asked her. Mona lit a Marlboro and took a long, angry drag.

"She… She works with me…" Mona stammers as she blows out smoke. I nod and tap my fingers on the console.

"She was talking about being with this guy who was cheating, but I thought nothing of it." Mona admitted, taking another drag off the cigarette.

I was silent for a long while before saying, "I could take care of her. For good."

"You don't have to…" Mona started, but her voice had a little uncertainty in it. Like she was considering it.

"You sure?" I asked, almost pleading. Mona blew out smoke and tapped the cigarette out the window.

"No." She admits. I smirk, leaning back in my seat casually. I laughed a bit. Mona rolled her eyes at me and took another drag.

"I'll think about it, okay?" She finally grumbles. I chuckle and lean up against the window. All of the sudden there was a loud _whoosh_ and a _poof_ sound and a flash of pale blue that came from the windows. Mona dropped her cigarette and it fell to the driveway. Her eyes were blank. Time slowed down. My heart palpitated rapidly.

"Mona?" I whisper. That's when she signals for me to get out of the car and follow me. I had a feeling I knew what I'd see when we walked inside.

The look my mother gave me when we walked in the house was warning. Don't tell a soul. The atmosphere was tense. Mona swallowed hard, fidgeting with the zipper on her jacket. I wrapped my arms around my torso and closed my eyes, the image burned into my eyelids. One I wouldn't soon forget. As my mother urged us to go to our rooms and wait for dinner. As I scaled the stairs, I turned back and processed the scene one more time.

Poppy, completely frozen in ice, her face frightened, her clothes half put on. My father frozen in ice, half up off the couch, ready to run. I shuddered and broke for my room, tears stinging my eyes.

It's done.

"She beat you to it." Mona said, trying to make me laugh.

"Yeah, I guess she did." I called over my shoulder as I slammed the door and slumped against it. I sunk to my carpet. I opened my palm and extended my fingers. A tingle ran down my spine and soon I was controlling a little snowstorm right in the palm of my hand. It made a cute whooshing sound and it diminished when I closed my palm. I sighed and ruffled my hair up with my fingertips.

A whole lotta power that's gonna be used for a whole lotta hell.


	15. Dance Class is a Code Word

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

 **ALYSSA**

I sat in my room, staring at the wall. I looked down at my hands and wrung them. The room was dead quiet. The sound of me sniffling was all you could hear. My father found the pictures. The texts. He found out about what I did to Essence. He said I was being a bad girl. I don't wanna be a bad girl.

I kept begging my dad to give me my phone so I could ask Myrah or Derek if Essence was okay. He said no. The suspense is killing me. For all I know, she could be in the hospital. She could have broken her nose or gotten a concussion or something. No way to tell now. I get to go back to school tomorrow. I want to know how Essence is doing. That day, I wasn't alone in my skin. I know it. I felt it. A different presence. A weird new feeling. Like I wasn't safe. Like I wouldn't ever be safe.

I swung my feet back and forth and watched them, boredom flooding my system. My dad only lets me come downstairs to eat or use the bathroom or go to school or whatever. I'll be ungrounded in a week. That's when I'll get my phone back. But who cares?

I hate my life. I keep pretending I'm something I'm not. I keep hiding in an empty shell. I act like I'm okay with who I am, but I'm not. I want to show people I'm not a dumbass, ditzy, innocent little girl with autism. I'm much more than just a diagnosis on a paper and a doctor's record. I'm a person. I'm a force to be reckoned with. I went to bed, fuming. I'll show them all. Everyone.

At school, I immediately started searching for Essence. I was starting to get desperate. When I found her, she was talking with North, Derek, and Myrah at her locker. They looked dead serious, but laughed and joked around occasionally. As I approached the group, Essence noticed me. She started panicking and freaking out and North stood in front of her protectively, soothing her. He set one hand on her hip and kept her back away from me. Myrah and Derek formed a protective wall in front of them, giving me a warning look. Lay a finger on her. I dare you.

"Essence? Are you okay?" I squeaked. Essence grabbed North around the waist and pulled him to her. Derek and Myrah were getting annoyed.

"Leave me the fuck alone." Essence said quietly. Her voice quivered. She started out strong, but faded into weakness. North was about ready to yell at me or hit me or something worse. I deserve it.

"Essence, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." I said. North hugged Essence close. He looked at Myrah and Derek uneasily. They nodded and parted so Essence could come closer to me. That didn't mean North wasn't still hovering right behind her and protecting her and glaring at me. He was really starting to intimidate and scare the shit out of me. I mean, come on. He's slightly taller than all of us, he's been in football, basketball, track and field, soccer, and does shit-tons of archery. Guy's built. He could easily overpower me or anyone for that matter. Essence shuddered and started brushing her hair away from her face.

"Remember the story?" North asked her softly. Realisation dawned on Essence, even though I had no clue what they were talking about. I stood there, feeling clueless.

"I'm sorry, Essence. Could you please forgive me? Can we be friends?" I asked carefully. Essence grunted and huffed out a breath. She was squinting at me.

"Whatever. Just don't expect me to wear a goddamn Best Friends necklace or anything, okay? I'm not into peaches and unicorns and flowers-type friendship shit… I won't go taking selfies or being twinsies or any of that. No. Remember those things and you might survive these next few years as 'friends'. Got it? Good." Essence replied tightly. North covered his mouth to stifle a chuckle. Derek and Myrah stood there, jaws practically on the ground at Essence's sudden sassiness. I was speechless. Essence cocked her hip and sized me up and down.

"Damn!" Derek cried. "I'd like to see what she'd do to you, baby." He said to me. I glared at him. Essence smirked.

"No, you wouldn't." Essence simpered. "It'd be too much for you." North was laughing into his hand, his face cherry red.

"I can't fucking breathe…" He squeaked. Myrah didn't quite know what to do. She kept looking at me. Don't worry, I'll protect you. Her face said. I nodded and pursed my lips.

"We need to talk to her about something at lunch, don't we, guys?" North asks once he stops laughing. Essence shuffles from foot to foot. Derek picks at his cuticles. Myrah ruffles her skirt.

"What? What the hell does that mean?" I ask. Essence shakes her head.

"We'll tell you later. At lunch." She says firmly. The bell rings, signaling that first period is about to begin and the group splits up, heading in the direction of their classes. North and Essence have their arms linked together as they walk down the hall. As they break apart, North grabs Essence's face and kisses the top of her hair. He whispers something in her ear. Essence blushes and North smiles at her as they walk away from each other. What have I missed?! What the hell?!

I spend all first period ignoring the teacher and thinking about what North, Myrah, Essence, and Derek could possibly need to tell me. Maybe they want to announce that Essence and North are dating. Maybe Derek's dumping me. Maybe Myrah wants to ask me out. Damn it. I'm stressed. The teacher's voice sliced through my daydream. She asked me something in French and I gave the wrong answer, sending the whole class into roaring laughter. I hid my head and set my head down on my desk, embarrassed.

At lunch, I found Essence, North, Myrah, and Derek sitting at a table in the back of the cafeteria. Essence was waving her arms around and making exaggerated hand motions. She looked dead serious. The others listened attentively. I walk up to them and Derek scoots over, making room for me to sit down.

"So what do you guys need to talk to me about?" I ask, nibbling on my pizza. Myrah mouths the word, Manipulators. I stiffen up.

"We're… We're Manipulators, Aly…" Derek says quietly. Essence looks at North lovingly. Myrah looks pretty laid back and chill.

"We've got this… Plan… For the school… And, yeah…" North says, picking off pieces of his Styrofoam lunch tray.

"What do you mean?" I ask, feeling dumb. Essence slaps a Manila folder onto the table. Inside them, there are sketches in Sharpie and bright pens. Stick figures and lines and a map of the school with notes scribbled across it. Words catch my eye. Ice. Snow. Freeze it all. This hall first. I look up at my friends, eyes wide.

"Sooooo?" Essence chirps. "You in? Or not?" North smirks. Derek and Myrah sing the Jeopardy theme song, waiting for me to decide.

Now this gets me thinking. This is what I've wanted since I was nine years old. Power. Fear stricken into the hearts of my enemies. A sense of control over something for once. I want that. I want to be powerful. I want to show people I'm not an idiot. That I'm actually worth something. I'll show them, goddamn it. I'll show them all. I close the Manila folder and push it over to Essence. She looks worked for a moment till I smile at her devilishly.

"Alright. When do we start?" I whisper. Essence grins and pumps an air fist.

"As soon as we specify this…" Derek starts.

Later that night, after I had packed as much as clothing, bottles of water, batteries, lanterns, matches, toiletries, medical supplies, and perishable food as I could into my violin case, backpack, duffel bag, and Nike sport bag, I went over what my friends had said that day at lunch.

 _You bring your fair share of supplies. You know, the essentials. Perishables, medical supplies, you get the point. Stuff that all in as many bags as you can carry without seeming too suspicious. Eat extra at lunch. We'll have to save food for meals. We'll take action after fifth period bell rings. We'll hide out in the bathrooms till it's time to launch our little plan. After everything is done, Essence will lead us somewhere safe. She knows a place somewhere that we can live. It might take awhile to get there though. We must be patient._

I pulled out the Manila folder with our plans in it and looked over which sector I was taking care of. I was going solo in the eighth grade wing, the nurse's office, and so on. I stuffed the plans into the mess of folded jeans and stacked bras and such and went to bed. All night, I dreamed of being number one. Ruling over everything I touched. Feeling like I'm actually worth something.

When I woke up this morning and my alarm clock went off, I laughed hysterically. Last time I'd ever hear that sound again. I hit the off button and got dressed in the only outfit not thrown into my bags. I tied my snow boots tightly. The bags were wobbling around on my shoulders and making everything painful. I rushed downstairs and grabbed a Poptart on the way out the door.

"Bye, Daddy!" I called through the house.

"Wait a second, Alyssa…" My dad grumbled. Uh oh.

"Yeah?" I ask, trying not to let my voice quiver.

"I thought we had more food in the house…?" Dad said, groggy from sleep. "And what are you carrying in your bag? Bricks?"

"Books." I said firmly. "Bye! You have to pick me up after dance class!" I called out enthusiastically. I slammed the door and waited for the bus. My mind buzzed. This was really happening. We were really gonna do this.

And I was damn ready for it.


	16. Snotty Fries Are Romantic As Fuck

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

 **NORTH**

The day has arrived. Adrenaline has been pumping through my veins all night. I just can't wait. I'm ready to cause some chaos. I'm lucky that I have an instrument case, a sports bag, and a duffel bag. My backpack was filled to the brim with clothing and other stuff. I could tell this was gonna hurt my shoulders. It was gonna be worth it though. I took up an entire seat on the bus with all the heavy bags I was carrying. I doubted it would all fit in my locker.

Walking into school, I ran into Essence, who looked excited and jittery. Like she had eaten a bunch of sugar. When she walked up close to me, she smirked.

"Football practice today?" She jokes. I nod, smirk, and signal to her bags.

"Dance class?" And she nods. She leans in real close to me and puts her lips close to my ear.

"You ready for this?" She whispers. "Ready to have it all?"

"Yeah…" I respond, shouldering my backpack. "I was born ready." Essence gives me a confident smile and I gaze at her lovingly. She comes in for a hug and I almost fall on my ass. I regain my balance before I totally embarrass myself in front of my crush and potential future girlfriend.

"Oh!" Essence cries. "You need help shoving that in your locker?"

"You have stuff too! You take care of yours, and if I need help, then come help me, okay?" I said. Essence nodded and headed off to her locker. Naturally, I had a hard time putting all my bags into my locker. They kept falling out or just not fitting in at all. Essence skipped over three minutes later, willing to help. She set her binder and laptop on the floor beside us.

"How the hell did you fit everything in there?!" I rasp, feeling winded.

"Like I always say, I'm gonna make it fit!" Essence chatters. She simply pushes on my bags and they just slide in. _What the hell_. She closes my locker. Essence's smile is wicked and she turns and heads off to class early, but not before I grab her by the collar of her shirt and pull her up against my body. Don't get hard, don't get hard, don't get hard, damn it, I got hard…

"See you in a couple hours…" I purr. Essence's face is just inches from mine. I brush my fingers over her cheek gently. I gaze into her pale, pretty eyes. I feel her breath brush across my cheek, she's so close. _She's so beautiful. She's so radiant. She's so gorgeous._ I back her up against my locker door and her breath hitches in her chest. I chuckle softly and hug her close. I nuzzle her neck gently.

"Um, guys?" A familiar voice laughs. Essence breaks away from me and whips around to face Myrah, Derek, and Alyssa. They're smirking at us. Essence blushes and the group starts laughing. Not in a teasing way. In a friendly, you can trust me kinda way. Myrah, Derek, and Alyssa join us. They gather around us in a circle.

"You got everything?" Derek addresses everyone. We all nod in unison. Essence starts playing with the big ring on her pinkie. I'd love to put that ring on another finger of hers, but hey, we've got a long way to go.

"Are you guys ready for today?" I ask. Everyone nods.

"See you all at lunch." I finish. The bell rings and everyone, except Essence and I split up from each other. Essence gazes at me with those pretty eyes of hers. She pulls her lower lip into her mouth. I eyeball it hungrily. I make my way over to her and grasp her chin between my thumb and forefinger gently. Essence looks a little sleepy or trance-like.

"Please. Don't. You're driving me crazy over here!" I laugh. She releases her lip and I let go of her chin. I say goodbye and walk away from her, towards first period. I whisper, I _love you_ under my breath as I leave her standing there. I feel her eyes watching me. All first period, I fantasize about something I've been planning ever since I first met Essence. What? It's not like I need to pay attention. No one's ever gonna come to school again. Hell… They're not even going to leave. I didn't pay attention in any of my classes. When lunch rolled around, I could sense the excitement in the air, but also some tension.

Essence's anxiety kicked in and gave her a slight breakdown. It made it hard for her to eat. It was a little scary at first, but eventually she was able to calm down and have a little something. I kept an eye on her the rest of lunch, rubbing her back and talking to her when needed. Essence was getting overwhelmed and stressed out and started panicking because there were so many people. Lunch was about to end soon, and I just prayed that Essence's powers didn't go off when we didn't plan them to. Essence kept insisting that she would be okay and that everything was fine but I knew that it wasn't. She was frightened. So many people to take care of and such little time to do it. I don't blame her for freaking out.

Finally, the big moment arrives. Essence, Myrah, and Alyssa hide in the girl's bathroom and Derek and I hide in the guy's one. We plop down on the floor near the sinks. We wait for the bell to sound. When it does, Derek snickers.

"This'll be good…" Derek says, his smile sly. I grab his arm and keep him down. He looked at me quizzically. I beckon him to sit down.

"They will come to us…" I remind Derek. He nods. I look at him for a moment and decide to just suck it up and ask him.

"I need advice, man…" I tell him. Derek looks über-confident. He smooths out his jeans.

"Well… What about?" Derek asks, playing with the soles of his Jordan's.

"Essence." I say. He looks at me again. "I mean… She's literally everything to me… I wanna make my move once we arrive at our destination… I mean, like, really really make my move."

"What do you mean by that, though?" Derek asks. I take a deep breath.

"Confess my feelings and then… Hopefully… Kiss her… After that, I might try to, you know… Ask her out…" I say, messing with my shirt a little bit. Derek nods. "So what do I do?" I ask him.

"Be yourself. Pour your heart out. Like some French guy who's a poetry type guy. That's romantic. Don't be afraid to hold doors or whatever. You know? As for the kiss? Make it sweet, passionate, warm, make it a kiss she'll never forget. Make it cutesy but not sissy, you know? Cutesy, sexy, and nice. A little hand in the hair, grab her by the jaw, press your body into hers. Bam. Putty in your hands."

I nodded, thinking over everything. _Pour your heart out. Sweet, passionate, warm… She'll never forget… Cutesy… Cutesy, sexy, and nice…_ I loved the sound of this.

"Got it. Thanks so much." I tell Derek, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Not a problem. But do us all a favor, will you? Do that stuff in private. 'Cause one, it will make everything that much more romantic, and two, we don't want to see you two getting hot and bothered or horny or start fucking or whatever in public. Okay?" Derek laughs. I nod, feeling my face get warm. The bathroom door swings open and Essence, Myrah, and Alyssa stand in the doorway. Essence holds out her hand to me. My breath catches in my chest.

"Ready, North?" She asks breathlessly. I nod and take her hand, grasping it firmly and lacing my fingers with hers. She leads me out the bathroom and down the sixth grade hallway. We walk side by side, holding hands, and stop at the end of the hallway. Ten classrooms. Five kids at one end of the hall, studying and laughing, two teachers talking in front of one classroom, a teacher chiding two students, a group of friends working on a drama skit. This will be tricky. Essence smirked all confident-like.

"Freeze, bitches." She murmured under her breath as she let go of my hand and started to raise her own. I watched in amazement as a pale blue aura surrounded her and flooded her eyes. There was a loud _bang_ and _whoosh_ and I watched as everyone in the hallway looked over at Essence in terror and fear. A big burst of snow and cold wind blew the teachers and students back against the wall at the end of the hallway. That knocked the wind out of all of them and they gasped for air. Essence looked at me and mouthed, finish them. I snapped my fingers and pointed at the group of people. I heard a whoosh from behind me and a few crackling sounds as well. Icicles whizzed past our heads and Essence and I watched as they impaled the students and teachers. Satisfying screams rang through the halls. Blood poured onto the floor as snow accumulated. Essence sighed dreamily. I smirked. Soon, people were opening their doors to see what the noise was. I watched Essence as she pointed to the people peeking out of the classrooms and blasts of ice shot from her hand, turning them to statues right on the spot. People started screaming. Essence nodded at me and we broke apart. I broke open the door in the one classroom, shot a blast of frost and ice into it, and closed the door and listened to people begging for help. The crackle of ice. The desperate shrieks of teachers and students. The muffled cries. I was twitching. I had no control anymore. I felt giddy and light.

Essence and I took turns, shooting blast after blast of ice into classrooms. The temperature in the school dropped with every blast. I was twitching and feeling out of control. I had some sort of power. I felt it. Adrenaline rushed through my veins. Once the job was done, Essence strolled over to me, tromping through the snow on the hallway floor like it was no problem. I was still twitching and spazzing out. Essence got up on her tiptoes, touched my face, and planted a kiss on the end of my nose. I felt myself relaxing and slowly calming down. Essence brushed her fingers over my cheek and looked into my eyes lovingly.

"We did it." She smiles. "We did it, North." Her eyes brimmed with tears of joy. I hugged her up against me. We really did, didn't we? Essence looked up at me, eyes bright and shiny, gazing at me longingly. I want to kiss her now. Now. Now. I shouldn't. I want to wait. But I don't know if I can. I want to kiss Essence. I wanna taste her lips, the spearmint Chapstick she applies, the minty gum she chews when she's nervous. Everything. I want that. But I want to wait. It's better to wait. _Damn it, but she looks so eager. Look at those eyes. Holy shit. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

"North?" Essence singsongs. "I think the others could use our help."

"What makes you say that?" I murmur, feeling flirtatious. Essence raises her eyebrows and points over to Alyssa, who is standing in the doorway. I clamp my mouth shut.

"Yeah." Alyssa says. "This is tough. Little help?" Essence nods and bounds over to her.

"You coming or not?" Essence calls over her shoulder. She holds out her hand to me and I grasp it and follow her and Alyssa. I run my thumb over her knuckles. The eighth grade hallway is all the way at the other side of the school. It's also the biggest hallway in the school. It has the most classrooms, the most students, and the most teachers. I can't blame Alyssa for wanting help. Essence stood at the end of the hallway, assessing the situation and sweeping her eyes over every classroom.

"Easy solution to the problem!" She says enthusiastically. She cups her hands, and with a gentle blue flash of light, she's cupping a sizable ball of frost and ice. On the inside, snow swirls around like a snow globe. One of the most dangerous Manipulator weapons ever created or conceived. The ice bomb. Essence looks at us nervously.

"You might wanna back up. I can tell I'll need to use more than one." Essence murmurs. I glance at her uneasily.

"Can I help?" Alyssa and I ask in unison. Essence shrugs, still cupping the bomb.

"If you want." She says firmly. "Let's do it all at once." Alyssa and I form our ice bombs and wait for Essence's orders.

"1… 2… 3… Now, guys!" Essence yells. She chucks her ice bomb down the hall at the same time Alyssa and I do. When they hit the ground, they split open and release a mixed blast of ice, snow, and frigid air. We listen to the sound of the windows on the classroom doors blowing out, and our fellow classmates and teachers screaming for help. The crackling of ice and frost is louder. Essence forms another ice bomb. A few sorta lucky ducky kids sped out of their classrooms, ice crawling up their ankles and rooting them to the floor. I recognized a few people. Andromeda, one of Myrah's friends. A few football buddies. Some of Essence's bullies. Essence sneered at them.

"Essence… North… Aly… Please don't do this to me!" One girl rasped. She had fallen on the floor and was becoming encased in ice. Alyssa snorted. I stood closer to Essence.

"We'll do anything! Please, just let us go. Stop this!" A boy next to the girl on the floor begged. I recognized him from soccer.

"Suck my ass." Essence snapped as she threw the ice bomb she was holding onto the floor. It added to the chaos in the hallway, creating a large, invisible force and blast of nippy wind. It propelled her backwards and she hit the wall behind her. Essence let out a strangled, tortured yelp as her head hit the hard surface. I gasped and rushed over to her side. Essence was cursing and grabbing at the back of her head furiously.

"Sons of bitches…" She spat.

"Essence!" Alyssa cried.

"Essence! Essence, are you okay?" I asked her. Essence nodded and righted herself till she was standing on her feet again. Essence looked over at the hallway, satisfied by what she had done. I set my hand on her hip comfortingly.

"I'll be fine. Damned head'll be killing me for days now, though… Come on, we gotta find Myrah and Derek." Essence boomed, grasping my hand again. As we walked towards the seventh grade hall, gusts of cold air whipped into our faces. I noticed sheets of ice spreading across the floor in front of us. Drifts of snow piled in corners and icicles hung down from the ceiling. Essence looked a little worried. I squeezed her hand to get her attention.

"Are you doing okay? You seem a little tense." I murmur. Essence puffs out her cheeks and squeezes my hand.

"Just scared about getting caught. Jailed. Shipped off. Executed. That's all." Essence chuckles, brushing some hair out of her eyes. I can't help but notice how beautiful her white-blond and grey streaked hair looks paired up with her pale, crystalline eyes. I also couldn't help but hear a hint of her Boston accent showing through when she got stressed. I found it really fucking adorable for some reason. _Snap out of it!_

"We're all gonna be okay. Even if something goes wrong, I've got you. I'll keep you safe. That sound good?" I assure her. Essence nods and looks down the seventh grade hallway. Myrah's laying on the snow-covered floor, making a snow angel. Derek's kicking ice statues of frightened students in the privates. _Well. Okay._

"What took you guys so long?" Myrah chuckled.

"Well, it's your fault for giving us the big hallways to work on." Essence rolled her eyes. "You gave yourself the small hallway."

"Guilty. Now, did you finish the job?" Myrah asks.

"Yes." Alyssa, Essence, and I said in unison.

"Good. Essence, did you get the stuff we talked about?" Essence nodded. I looked at her, puzzled.

"Whoa! Essence has weed?! Can I have some?!" Derek shrieked. Essence looked horrified.

"No, I don't have weed. Anymore." She teased. She winked at me. Essence reached into her pocket and pulled out car keys and a floral and paisley print wallet. It had a driver's license peeking out a clear plastic window.

"Yay! Good work!" Myrah squealed. "Let's get our bags, guys. Say goodbye to this rust bucket! Hello to a better place!" We all headed towards our lockers. Not surprisingly, it was easier to get my bags out of my locker than it was to put them in. _Trés sigh_.

Essence came up next to me, carrying her bags. Her eyes were kind and welcoming and friendly. She shuffled from foot to foot in her teal Converses.

"You did great today… I mean, like, you were awesome… You looked so…" Essence stammered, nervously fingering her hair.

"Looked so what?" I smirked. Essence's face flushed deep red. She straightened up a bit and gazed into my eyes.

"Smoking hot." Essence replied confidently. "Hotter than hell." I was surprised. I don't get that many compliments, especially not on how I look. Essence's smile was lustful. I felt my knees go weak just looking at her.

"Oh, and by the way, you should wear your jacket unzipped more often. Really shows off those killer abs." Essence coos, feeling over my stomach muscles. I close my eyes and groan softly. Essence bats her eyelashes at me innocently.

"Essence! North! Come on! We gotta go!" Myrah's voice called out.

"Coming!" Essence singsongs. She reaches out for my hand but I can't grab it because I have too many bags. Her face flushes red and she looks hurt and confused for a split second. I start to feel bad. We make our way to the entrance of the school, walking across sheets of ice that have formed along the floors. Essence smiles satisfyingly. She starts humming 'The Ballad of Mona Lisa' absentmindedly. Myrah, Derek, and Alyssa stood at the front door, waiting for us.

"So, Essence. Do you know which car it is?" Derek asked. Essence nodded and pulled out the keys. So from what I've picked up, Essence stole a teacher's wallet and keys so we won't have to walk twelve hours to our destination, rather just have to drive roughly forty minutes.

"You're genius, Essence." I gushed. Essence shrugged.

"Sometimes. Depends on the situation, I guess." She laughs. "Now come on, before everything becomes covered." We start to walk out the door and Essence takes a deep breath.

"You okay?" I ask her. She nods. Her smile is devilish. She forms an ice bomb in her hands and chucks it into the lobby. She quickly pushes me outside and follows, watching snow, ice, and cold winter air swirl around inside the door. It's been sealed shut. Ice crackles softly and Essence chuckles. She grabs onto my arm gently and leads me and the others to a minivan that's parked in the teacher's lot. She starts messing with the buttons on the keys and the trunk pops open, where we deposit our heavy bags. Derek sighs with relief and laughs. We all pile into the car, Essence in the driver's side, me in the passenger, and Derek and Myrah and Alyssa spread out along the back seats. The doors slam loudly and Essence jams the key into the ignition, starting the car up. We all start buckling up. Essence adjusts her seat to make her look taller and more visible to drivers.

"You know how to drive?" I ask her. Essence nods.

"Only because Delilah needed someone to drive her drunk ass home some nights." She replies, humor dotting the edges of her voice. I nod.

"Well, where are we going?" Alyssa asks curiously.

"To Delilah's friend's house up in Windham, New Hampshire. It's hidden in the forest, she always over-buys stuff at the store, and everyone can have their own room." I stiffen up and blush at that part. Essence looks over at me seductively, teasingly. She starts pulling out of the parking lot.

"Actually, I lied. There are three bedrooms. We can share them… Two in one, two in another, and someone sleeping alone… Works out perfectly!" I heaved a sigh of relief.

"So, you actually know where the house is? You don't even need GPS?" Derek asks. Essence shakes her head.

"I've memorized my way to this bitch's house. It's a piece of cake." Essence replies, easing onto the main road and away from our rapidly freezing school. "You pretty much just ride I-93 the whole time. A few turns here, a few lefts and rights, and bam. We're here." I don't know what it is that makes me find Essence driving so sexy. Maybe it's just the fact that she's in control, being all sassy, or maybe it's the fact that the sleeve and front of her shirt is falling down and exposing a bit of her bra strap and cup and nice cleavage. Snap out of it, Aster!

The word that sums up our forty minute drive? For me, it was awesome. I pretty much just watched Essence the whole time. Her hair was slung over her shoulder messily yet sexily, her shirt was slightly too big for her so it was like she was flashing me the whole time, and she was singing along to every song on the radio. When Panic! At The Disco came on, she freaked out and started singing like no one was watching. I love that. She already seems so free. So happy. I love that.

The house was even more amazing than Essence had said. It was perched on perfectly plush green grass, surrounded by fragrant pines, and was completely hidden from view. The house was log cabin-style, but it was pretty sizable, like a ranch-style. Essence insisted it was cooler on the inside. The windows were high up on the house, and a wraparound patio lined the whole thing perfectly. When Essence put the car in park, we all climbed out and marveled at the house.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Essence grins. "It's ours now." She opened the front door. There was a startled cry and scream from the inside and Essence blasted ice at the source like it was no big deal. "Now… Now, it's ours." She popped the trunk and we all grabbed our bags from the back, lugging and hauling them up the steps and into the front door. We plopped the bags on the hardwood floor and gazed at the warm, cozy-looking interior. It smelled like cinnamon and apples and pumpkin pie. Essence closed the trunk and locked the car door. When she came up the steps and into the front hall, she sighed.

"This is the only place I've really ever felt comfortable in." She chirps. She shuts the front door, deposits her bags, and takes off her shoes, padding into the kitchen.

"Guys…" Essence singsongs. "We got lucky today!" We walked into the kitchen. Grocery bags filled with food were spread out everywhere. My eyes widened.

"Nice." Derek murmured. Essence smiled.

"Come on guys. We can start unpacking now." Myrah says. Essence walks over to an ice statue of a girl she no doubt just froze. She reached into one of her bags, pulled out a hammer, and started smashing the sculpture to bits. I watched only because it was the most surprising thing ever. Sudden burst of rage. She drops the hammer on the floor and looks at me.

"You wanna share the master's bedroom with me?" She purrs innocently. I nod, dragging my bags down the long hallway. Essence follows behind me, kicking the door open with her heel. The bed has lots of pillows, cozy blankets, and nightstands and dressers that match the headboard and footboard. She opens another door inside the bedroom, and right there is a bathroom. Our own private bathroom. I shake my head in disbelief

"Incredible." I whisper.

"I know, right?" Essence chuckles. She starts unpacking her bags and placing her folded clothes into the empty drawers. I puzzle for a second.

"She used this as a guest room. Can you believe it? That's why there's no clothing or anything in the drawers." Essence calls over her shoulder, as if reading my mind. That's when I start unpacking my clothing into the other dresser. Essence had about five bags that were filled with perishables and medical supplies and such. I had maybe six. After everyone had unpacked their clothing and shoes and toiletries and such, everyone had to put food away. It took a while, but it was worth it. Afterwards, Essence used the landline to call a pizza place and ordered a few pizzas, some-cheddar bacon fries, and bread sticks. When I asked her how we were going to pay for all that, she just laughed and winked at me. I saw what she meant a few minutes later.

Needless to say, she had crushed one more ice statue to bits before dinner. The pizza was delicious and the slices were bigger than my head. Essence says that Suppa's is really the only pizza she actually likes. And the cheddar-bacon fries? Forget it! They were to die for. They had the weirdest name—snotty fries. Don't ask why because I don't know—but they were so delicious. After dinner, I kept flicking my eyes over Derek, signaling to him to get the others and go. I wanted to be alone with Essence. Derek took the hint.

"We should go get some wood for the fireplace, that'd be cool!" Derek says. Myrah, Alyssa, and Essence nod their heads.

"Think there was some firewood at that convenience store we passed on the way here!" Myrah added. Essence passed her the teacher's wallet and stretched out on the couch.

"I'll go with you! Bye Essence! Bye North! We'll be back!" Alyssa cheered as the others went out the door. Derek winked at me as he shut the door behind them. Finally. We're alone. I glanced over at Essence. She moved in real close to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. Now.

"Can I talk to you?" I ask Essence softly. Essence looks at me and nods. I take a deep breath. _Pour your heart out. Make it cutesy._

"Essence, I… I… I love you." I murmur. Essence's eyes widen. "You make me feel like I can really be myself. You're so carefree and fun-loving. You're absolutely incredible. You're so… So sexy and the subject of my constant fantasies. I mean, you're amazing. You're perfect. I love everything about you. I… Oh god… You leave me at a loss for words. I'm speechless. There are just no words to describe how beautiful and amazing and lovely you are. I love you, Essence Eirwen-Aurora. I want you." I gaze into her eyes. Essence looks so touched.

"North, that's so sweet." Essence says,

"Well, I mean it all." I say kindly. Essence's eyes are getting bluer by the second. She looks like she wants me in the same way I want her. _Big moment. Big moment. Big moment. Don't fuck this up._ I start moving closer to her side, closing the space between us. I'm towering over her, she looks so shy and vulnerable. My eyes sweep over her body from head to toe. Essence is squirming and shifting in her seat. I know what I'm doing to her. I look at her confidently and Essence breathes out heavily.

"N-north?" Essence whispers. I place my hand on her jaw and wrap my fingers across my back of her neck. I start leaning in real close. I tilt Essence's face up to meet mine.

"Essence…" I murmur. I place my free hand on Essence's hip and start pulling her up against me. Essence's breathing is shallow. My heart is trying to break out of my ribcage. Essence keeps moving in closer. Closer, closer, closer. Till her breath is brushing against my skin. I close my eyes and pull her in all the way.

Essence's lips are soft and smooth. I taste her Chapstick. Nothing's ever tasted better. I sigh into her mouth and stroke her hair. When I pull away, Essence looks at me shyly. She shifts in her seat, like she's uncomfortable.

"Was that your… First?" I ask her. Essence chews her lip and nods.

"Was it good?"

"Yes…" Essence sighs dreamily. She closes her eyes and flops back on the couch. She gazes up at the ceiling and giggles. _Goddamn… So beautiful… I can't take it anymore!_ I pounce on her. Essence gasps and I start devouring her with kisses. She pushes me off her, so I'm sitting in front of her and she crawls over to me, straddling my lap. Her face flushes red and she smiles. She wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me slowly, deliciously, torturously. I set my hand in the small of her back as we make out. I set my other hand in her hair and grasp it in my fist. Essence's kisses become slower and more passionate. I relish in the taste of her lips. Essence rakes her hands through my scruffy, shaggy blond hair and presses her body up against mine completely. I start leaning back down onto the couch cushions and Essence follows me down, her lips never leaving mine. I flip us over, so she's underneath me. Essence gasps and then chuckles and shakes her head. She covers her face with her hands for a moment.

"You're wearing my lip balm more than I am." She grins. I knew it was true. I just didn't care. I smiled and leaned in and started kissing her again. Essence's legs wrapped around my waist. Her kisses are amazing. I never want this to end. That's when I heard the front door open. I grabbed Essence's hair and kissed her ravenously. She moaned at my sudden burst of energy. _Good._ She grasps handfuls of my shirt in her hands. I nibble her lower lip gently and she groans.

"Oh my god!" Alyssa gasped when she saw us. I just kept kissing Essence. I ignored the others. Essence stroked my hair gently and sighed.

"What is it, Aly?" Myrah asked. When she saw us, she gasped. "Holy shit!"

"Derek!" Alyssa called out. "Derek, look!"

"What?" Derek murmured. "Oh, goddamn!" Essence pulled away from me for a second to yell at them.

"Go! Go away! Leave us alone… Leave us..." Essence gasped. I kissed her again. This time, I grasped her jaw gently and held her in place,

"Oh my god, get a room!" Myrah cried. I pulled away again and glared at her.

"This is a room. It's the living room. Get out… Go. We're busy… Just leave us alone… Please…" Essence grasps my hair and pulls me into another kiss. With every kiss, all my pent-up sexual tension was getting released. I only got hornier, hungrier, and only wanted Essence in another dirty way. I grabbed her legs and held them in place around my waist. Essence groans.

"Guys, come on. Let's leave them alone. We should be happy for them." Derek says. I hear footsteps as Aly, Myrah, and Derek leave the room. Essence tightens her legs around my waist.

"Hey… You never kiss me like that!" I hear Aly say from the other room. Essence sighs and lets her hands explore my body. She pushes my shirt up a little and feels over my abs and back. I moan softly and run my hands over her back and hips and ass. I run my fingers through her hair and she sighs. I kiss Essence one more time, making it last and then I pull away. Essence lays there, panting and gazing into my eyes.

"That was… Whoa…" Essence giggles. I smirk and kiss her quickly. That's when we start to get up from the couch and walk into the kitchen. The others just stare at us when we enter the room. Essence shrugs and I sit down on a barstool. She sits in my lap and hums 'Crazy=Genius'.

"Deal with it." Essence snaps at the others. "Grow up." Derek covers his mouth.

"Ick." Alyssa mutters. Essence stares daggers at her.

"So are you two a thing now?" Myrah asks after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Yes." I say firmly. "Yes, we are." Essence smiles and fingers a strand of hair that's hanging in front of her face. Myrah grins from ear to ear. Alyssa's eyes widen. Derek's face said, _yeah, I knew it._

The rest of our night consisted of sitting in front of the fireplace, being jokesters, and staying up late. Before Essence went to get ready for bed, she threw an ice bomb out the window and it shattered in the street.

"What?" She asked. "We didn't take care of everything else." I sat next to her at the bay window and watched ice spread across the street. Frost started to cloud up the windows. Snow started falling from the sky. I put my arm around Essence's waist and pulled her into a kiss. Essence cuddles up into me and smiles.

"Come on, let's go to bed." I whisper in her ear. She grasps my hand and we walk off to bed. She sets herself on the edge of the bed and pulls off her pants and bra. She's walking around in nothing but a shirt and her pink panties. I can't take my eyes off her.

"What?" Essence teases. "Is it something on my face?" I'm at a loss for words, standing there staring at her like an idiot and a perv. She strolls up to me, and I shit you not, lifts up her shirt fully, flashing her boobs to me. My knees go weak and I lean up against the wall for support. Whoa. She giggles and pushes by me to go brush her teeth. _She's that kind of girl, huh?_ I lean in the doorway, watching her brush her teeth.

She looks up at me funny. "You have a toothbrush fetish or something? Pearly whites turn you on?" I shake my head and leave her alone. I was feeling lazy and exhausted, so I just decided to sleep in my underwear. I didn't feel like putting on pajamas. Besides, I was sleeping next to my tasty, brand-new girlfriend. Maybe I wanted to look decent. I went back into the bathroom and when Essence met my gaze in the mirror, her eyes boggled and she sized me up and down. Her eyes stayed down for a moment, the after effects of her flashing me still noticeable. She held the toothbrush in her mouth as she looked at me. I smirked and crossed my arms. She spat into the sink and washed herself up, still staring at me as she left the bathroom.

"What? Do you have a toothbrush fetish now, Miss Eirwen?" I teased her. Essence rolled her eyes and headed toward the bed. _Why did I fucking call her that? Now she's gonna think I'm a creep or something. What the hell?! Great._ All of the sudden, I felt seriously self-conscious and freaked out. I mean, could you blame me?! I'm just about to get into bed with the girl I've liked since Pre-K, and I'm going over a mental checklist. I'm trying to tell myself to calm down, but it's seriously impossible. _Does my hair look all weird? Am I still all crazy-looking from earlier? Is her lip balm still smeared all over my face? Is that a zit? Wait. Damn it! Am I hotter than that guy from Panic! she's always gushing over?! No way. He's got tattoos. That's hot. Fuck. Damn it, Brendon Urie. Can I compete with him?! Do I need a red tux or something?! Do I need to sing about closing goddamn doors to win her over?! No, I don't need any of that. She loves me for me. Calm down. Breathe. You're gonna blow a fuse._ I walked out of the bathroom, shutting off the light on the way out and feeling super-awkward as I did so. Essence looked at me again, eyes filled with lust and hunger. She looked so cuddly, cozy, sweet, and sleepy lounging amongst the huge pile of plush pillows and velvety blankets. I slid under the blankets beside her and wrapped my arms around her.

"I'll never let anything bad happen to you." I promise Essence. She looks up at me, eyes far away and trance-like.

"I like that." Essence murmurs. She reaches out and brushes her thumb along my bottom lip. I close my eyes and pucker my lips, kissing the pad of her thumb. She grins and snuggles up to me.

"You were really good earlier." I murmur. Essence sighs and runs her hand through my hair.

"When? At school or on the couch?" Essence whispers.

"Both." I reply.

"Oh. Well, so were you." Essence says quietly. She yawns and rests her head on my chest, eyes closing.

"You tired?" I ask her. Essence chuckles.

"No. Can't you see I have so much energy and I'm jumping up and down all over the place?" Essence groans sarcastically. I stroke her hair and she literally dozes off in no time. I look at her while she sleeps. She looks so adorable. Her face gets all pink and her breathing is all quiet and cute. I kiss her forehead and shut off the lamp on the nightstand, shrouding the room in darkness.

"Don't worry, Essence." I whisper. "You're safe with me. I'm here for you. Nothing bad is ever gonna happen to you now that I'm here." Essence sighed in her sleep and nuzzled my chest. I melted into the pillows, dreaming of Essence kissing me on the couch earlier.


	17. North Likes Pitching Tents

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

 **ESSENCE**

When I woke up, my hair was all tangled and North's fingers were caught in it. His legs were entwined with mine and his face was planted in my boobs. I had to laugh at that. I reached down and stroked his messy hair. His eyes opened and he smiled at me through the sleepy haze. Aw, so sweet.

"Morning." North whispers, rubbing at his eyes. He takes his head off my chest. "I thought they were pillows… Wow… Um…" I blush.

"Hey sleepyhead." I chuckle. North slides closer to me and presses his lips firmly against mine. Mmm… That's good… When he pulls away, I feel the familiar tug in my chest to grab him and kiss him even harder. North runs his hand over my hip, picking at the band of my panties.

"What time's it?" North grumbles, sitting up in bed and stretching his arms above his head.

"7:15…" I reply, glancing at the clock on my nightstand. "A.K.A too fucking early for the sun to be blinding us!" I flop back against the pillow. North nods and rolls over on top of me, pinning me to the mattress with his body.

"North… Nooooorth… Nooooooooooooorth…." I groan. "What are you doing?"

"I don't know. Keeping you in bed with me. You can't escape. Rawr." North says, biting my lip gently. I laugh and wrap my arms around him. North picks me up from underneath my arms and tosses me back onto the bed roughly. He puts one hand on my chest, pinning me down. His eyes challenge me.

"What? You wanna go? You wanna fight me?" I tease, ruffling up his hair further. North grabs my wrist gently.

"Not like you'll win. I wrestled for a while, you know." He growls, straddling my waist. My heart leaps to my throat.

"It's on, baby." I growled, pushing North off me forcefully. He lays on his back, staring up at the ceiling. I pounced on him, sitting on his chest and holding him down for a few seconds. He grabs my wrists and flips me over. I squeal as I hit the mattress again and he starts tickling me everywhere. As I try to wriggle away, he yanks me by my feet and pulls me closer.

"Give up yet?" North laughs. I shake my head, giggling hysterically. He shows no mercy for me. I thrash around against the bed, laughing my ass off.

"I just… Got… Started!" I said in between laughs. I flipped him over and straddled his waist, tickling him right back.

"I'm not ticklish! That's… That's not gonna do anything!" North insisted, his face turning red. He squirmed underneath me and I smirked.

"Everyone's ticklish…" I tease. Eventually, North started cracking up and trying to fight against me.

"Essence!" He growls, playfully shoving me away. I land on my ass and he pins my back up against the headboard. This is nice. Just North and I alone, wrestling and rolling around against the sheets, ignoring the fact that there's anyone else around. It's our own little world. He kisses me softly and tugs on my shirt teasingly. I reach my arms out to him and he pulls me into his lap, tickling me again. I squeal and reach around behind me, hitting him over the head with a pillow. North gapes at me for a moment mischievously.

"Oh? It's that kind of fight, huh?" He purrs. I feel a tremor run through me and North grabs a pillow, hitting me in the side. He starts grabbing a bunch of pillows and attacking me. I cry out in protest and try to fight back. North chuckles and biffs me with a pillow again. We start rolling around and wrestling once more, rolling over the pillows and rustling up the sheets, laughing and smiling the whole time. North grabs the comforter and drapes it over ourselves. I find his lips in the darkness and adrenaline runs through me like electricity. North's hands wander all over my body, desperately feeling underneath the fabric of my shirt, dangerously close to my panties, and over my skin. All of the sudden his lips leave mine, trailing farther down my body, underneath my shirt, kissing my slim stomach. I sigh gently as he kisses me there again. Perfect.

"You give up now?" North asks breathily. His lips and tongue dance over my inner thigh now. Whoa. When did that happen?! Ooh, that's really nice.

"Yes, just don't stop. Don't ever stop. Please." I murmur, shutting my eyes.

"But I have to…" North says, pulling away.

"What? Why?" I ask, my lip trembling. He puts his hand on my face, brushing his thumb over my bottom lip as I did to him last night. He replaces his thumb with his lips and kisses me roughly, ravenously, like he was starving to death. His arms locked around my torso and I felt myself getting swept away. He pulls away for a split second.

"Because I wanna do that." North smiles, starting to kiss me again. But this time, he was rougher. It was clear he wanted me, I was fueling the fire in his heart. We lay down under the covers, kissing hungrily and giggling and teasing each other until the door opened and we heard Derek's voice carry into the room.

"What the hell is going on in here?!" Derek asks.

"Go away!" I giggle. "And calm your man-tits, it's just a kiss!"

"Didn't sound like it!" Derek laughs. "We heard banging on the wall and squealing… You know where I'm headed with this?"

"I was wrestling her." North says. "Can you get out now?"

"Nope…" Derek snickers.

"You act like you wanna walk in on us having sex or something!" I protest. Derek snorts.

"No. That's the last thing I wanna see. But fine, I'll go." Derek sighs, slamming the door.

"Now, where were we?" North sighs, moving in closer again.

"I don't know. I forgot." I smile.

"Well, I remember. We were doing a little bit of this..." North says mischievously. He grabs me roughly and his lips crash into mine. He slides his tongue into my mouth and I moan softly. He grabs handfuls of my hair and grinds his crotch into mine.

"Mmm…" North groans. He's tangling his legs into mine. There's another knock at our door and North throws back the blanket, storming over to it and yelling in Myrah's face.

"WHAT?" North snaps.

"It's the news…" Myrah says quietly. "You have to come see for yourself." North looks at me and I whimper.

"Essence? Come on, everything's alright. It's okay." He soothes. I walk over to him and clasp his hand tighter than I ever have. We walk down the hall and turn into the living room. We lean against the doorframe and North holds me close. Myrah unpauses the T.V. and the overdressed and overly made-up reporter starts talking. She's standing in front of our school. It's snowing outside and she's shivering in her thick winter coat. Pussy. There's nothing but police tape and reporters and fire fighters and detectives surrounding our frozen school. I swallowed hard. North squeezed my hand comfortingly.

"2,000 dead students. 37 dead teachers. 5 missing teens. Parents of children who attended Boston Middle School were worried when their children didn't return home yesterday. Multiple calls to the school were made, but never went through. When parents resorted to going directly to the school, they were greeted with an unpleasant surprise." The reporter says. My heart is pounding up against my ribcage, trying to break free.

"The five teens missing in this case could either be suspects or survivors. This is almost too frightening to think about. The possibility that Manipulators could still be around. The last known Manipulator case was in 2007. It was another murder." I let out a strangled, tortured yelp and North put his arms around me.

"Shhh… It's okay… It's okay… Breathe… Essence… I'm here…" North soothes. I shudder and glance at the T.V. again.

"The five missing teens are Alyssa Nicole Neva, Derek Sean Olwen, Myrah Elle Aspen, North Jackson Aster, and Essence Aria Eirwen-Aurora, who just so happens to be the daughter of the Manipulators who were tragically slain in 2007." Our school pictures flashed on screen briefly. North stiffened up and kept hugging me. I felt my vision double, and I felt seriously light-headed. I swayed side to side and North looked at me worriedly. Alyssa shut down the T.V. and glanced at me.

"Essence? Essence, what's going on? Are you feeling okay? Baby?" North asked. His voice was far away and echoey. His face was all distorted and blurry. My head felt fuzzy and like it was stuffed with cotton balls.

"Whoa. Essence, you don't look so well." Derek said nervously. "I mean, like you look really pale." I nodded. I knew what was about to happen. I heard a ringing noise in my ears, my vision turned white at the edges and the world closed in on me.

"Essence!" North cried out. My legs buckled and I fell against his chest, the waaaah noise louder than ever. My cheek slid across his skin. North laid me down on the carpet, calling out to me. Through the haze, I heard the others rushing to me, panicking and ready to help. North was freaking out more than anyone. I completely fainted, feeling nothing at all.

I didn't know what time it was when I woke up. All I know is that North's sweatshirt was underneath my head, neatly folded. There was a wet washcloth draped over my forehead and North was grasping my hand. My vision slowly returned and my ears crackled and popped. The others were surrounding me, anticipation in their eyes.

"Essence! She's waking up… Sweetheart… Oh, my poor little—" North started.

"Essence? Are you okay?" Alyssa squeaks. I try to focus on her face. Everything comes into focus finally. North looks so relieved. The others do too, but not as much as North.

"Oh thank God you're alright!" North whispers, squeezing my hand to his chest. I swivel my head around, trying to examine my surroundings. I felt flustered and stressed out.

"What happened?" I asked, confused. "Where am I?!"

"You passed out. You're on the living room floor." Myrah says gently. North kisses my hand and clutches it close to his body. The news report flashes through my mind. My heart wrenches.

"They're gonna find us," I whimpered. My eyes felt hot and tears pooled in my eyes. "We're gonna get arrested and killed and we'll never be happy… We're gonna die… We're gonna die like my mom and dad and my siblings… We're all gonna—"

"Essence, don't say that!" North says gently. Myrah and Alyssa help me sit up. I slump into North's chest and cry. I don't want to and it's making my head feel like someone is tearing it apart from the inside out, but I need to. North's heart shatters and I can see it in his eyes.

"Please don't cry, Essence. Nothing bad's gonna happen to you now that you've got me around. I'll beat the shit out of anyone who dares try to hurt you." North singsongs. He kisses my cheek, scruffing up my hair.

"North's got your back, Essence. Plus, we're in this thing together. And you're really strong, okay? You're great." Derek says, pep-talking me. "Don't worry about all this shit. Nothing a few ice bombs can't fix, right?" He chuckles. I nod and rub at my eyes.

"Don't worry, Essence! We've got you!" Alyssa cheers. Myrah nods.

"Thanks guys." I snivel. North kisses me lightly and hugs me again. He runs his hands through my hair.

"You're gonna be okay. You can count on me. I'm here…" North murmurs. His embrace is the most comforting feeling ever. I nuzzle his neck, tears messily streaming down my face. He holds me out at arm's length, analyzing my face. His eyes turn me into melted butter inside.

"Damn those tears." North mumbles, wiping tears off of my red, wet face. "You look so pretty." He kisses the tip of my nose and gazes into my eyes. They're probably red and bloodshot as fuck.

"You're beautiful…" He sighs dreamily. "Even when you're upset." I smiled weakly at North and he gave me a warm kiss. The others watch us, clearly touched and thinking we're cute together. They're not wrong.

"We were waiting for you. We made pancakes, rather tried to make them." Myrah says, heading towards the kitchen and picking up a platter of pancakes.

"I made some of them." Alyssa says proudly. "With Derek's help."

So we sat down at the table and ate pancakes. Alyssa insisted on putting a shit-ton of sprinkles on hers and we all watched in amusement as she shoveled forkful after forkful of sprinkles, maple syrup, and pancakes into her mouth. North was holding hands with me under the table. When Derek saw us, he snickered.

"Are you two gonna go all 'Lady and the Tramp' with a pancake or something?" He teases. North grabs a pancake from the platter and holds it in his mouth, raising his eyebrows at me flirtatiously. Myrah and Alyssa burst out laughing and I lean in, taking a bite off the pancake. North chuckles and pulls the pancake away from his mouth. Myrah's laughing so hard she's crying. Alyssa can't breathe. Derek looks completely weirded out.

"I was joking! I didn't expect you to do it or anything! God!" Derek says. North makes a face at Derek and turns to me, kissing me. His lips taste like maple syrup.

"And why are you guys still in pajamas?!" Derek asks, pointing to our lack of clothing.

"We had a rude awakening." North replies, glaring at both him and Myrah. Derek looks embarrassed. "I guess we'd better go change then, because the great, all-powerful Derek said so. Right, Essence?" North singsongs. I raise my eyebrows at him.

"Sure." I shrug, pushing my plate away and taking his hand as we head back to the bedroom. We hear the others snicker and make dirty jokes as we walk away. North reaches over and grabs a handful of my ass once we're in our room. I yelp and glare at him and he smirks. I roll my eyes and start to get dressed. As I pulled my shirt off over my head, I felt North's eyes on me. When I turned my head to face him, he blushed and looked away.

"What?" I teased. North's face was deep red and, even though I shouldn't have been looking at that particular area, I saw he was "pitching a tent". I slid on a pair of jeans, making sure I took an extra long time buttoning and zipping them up.

"North? Could you help me with my bra? I have a hard time getting the clasp." I sigh. Okay, so sue me for trying to tease him a little. North looks up at me, eyes wide.

"Yeah… Um… S-sure…" He stutters, walking over semi-nervously. I scoop my breasts into the cups and North grabs the elastic band.

"Which clip do you want it on?" North asks shakily.

"Last one." I reply. North does just that and then leans in and kisses my neck, using tongue. I moan softly and lean back into him.

"That bra looks amazing on you." North murmurs. "Really goes with your eyes." He starts kissing down my neck gently. I gasp softly and North sticks his pointer finger into my mouth. When he pulls it out, he sticks it in his own mouth and walks away. I pull out a blouse from my drawer and slowly do up the buttons, keeping my eyes on North the whole time. He absentmindedly pulls on a tight shirt and pair of baggy jeans. I watch him as he winds his belt through the loops slowly. There's just something so mesmerizing about it.

"What you looking at, Essence?" North purrs.

"Oh… Nothing… Um… No… Nothing…" I stammer, struggling to finish my buttoning. North shakes his head and smiles. Once we were both dressed, I went into the bathroom and looked out the window. Snow was coming down hard. I could barely see anything past the woods behind the house. When I glanced at the thermometer, it read 20° Fahrenheit. It was dropping quickly.

"What if they find us?" I ask North. He enters the room, closes the door, and locks it. I gaze up at him nervously and submissively.

"They won't, and if they do, I'll fight for you until they've been defeated." North says, grasping my jaw and kissing my cheek.

"What if someone comes after us? Like police? Or… Or the Black Ice?" I whimper. North grabs my waist and pulls my back up against him.

"See previous answer." North replies. He strokes my hair, layering it over my shoulders gently. "I'm not giving up on you. Ever."

"But I'm scared. I really want this. I just don't want to get caught." I murmur. North shakes his head.

"We have more power than all of the police or whatever combined. Trust me. We're gonna be okay. All of us." I nod and North hugs me.

"I love you." He whispers. His breath brushes against my ear and he nuzzles my hair gently.

"I love you too." I sigh dreamily, leaning back into his chest. The words were unfamiliar and strange on my lips. I've never said them to anyone before. North spins me around to face him and smiles. His eyes sweep over my face lovingly and he chuckles.

"You're so pretty." He murmurs. He closes the space between us. I feel my knees go weak. My stomach tightens.

"Am I allowed to ask why you… You know… Locked the door?" I asked, my throat feeling dry. North smirks, running his hands over my body. My arms, my chest, my stomach, my hips, my ass, and down to the back of my thighs. I watch his hands as they descend downwards. He raises his eyebrows and in one swift move, hoists me up. I gasp and wrap my limbs around him as he supports me from underneath. His grip is strong and firm. I feel my heartbeat in a place I've never felt it before. My heels skim over the back of his legs. I'm sorta towering over him now. The air around us is thick.

"So no one else sees that." North whispers, brushing his lips against mine gently.

"North!" I cry out. "How are you doing this?" According to my last doctor's visit, I was hovering right around the 109 pound mark. North carries me over to the sink and sets me on the counter, kissing me fully on the lips. Wow. He's stirring up this amazing feeling inside of me. Outside, the wind whips up louder and stronger. When I look, the snow is coming down harder than it was before. I shrugged it off.

"I told you, I did wrestling. Piece of cake. You're tiny. Petite." He replies confidently. I flick his shirt up a little and feel his stomach. North watches my hands as they touch his skin.

"You've got the muscles for it." I chuckle. Just as he is about to kiss me again, we are scared shitless by a bunch of pounding on the door. Alyssa, Derek, and Myrah giggle.

"I know what you're doing in there! You're giving your boyfriend some of that coochie…" Myrah squeals. North shakes his head in disbelief. Derek bursts out laughing.

"Am not!" I protest, pushing off from the counter and unlocking the door. When North and I step out of the bathroom, Myrah gets all up in my face.

"Well, then. You were about to! We heard you guys in there!" Myrah laughs. "'Oh, North, I love you so very much. I'm scared. Protect me, my baby. I'm so weak. Oh, your muscles are sooo good. Kiss me, North. Mwah, mwah. Oh yeah. That's good.'" Myrah mimicked me, making puckering sounds with her lips. I fume. My eyes burn with tears. North looks at me with concern.

"Are you gonna cry because it's the truth? Because you're kinda acting like a—"

"Don't say it." Derek warns. Myrah goes on anyway.

"Slut." I feel like someone's punched me in the gut with brass knuckles. Tears run down my cheeks unchecked. North growls and stares right at Myrah.

"I'm not afraid to hit you." North spits.

"You can't do that. I'm a girl." Myrah says matter-of-factly. "Also, that'd be child abuse."

North laughs. "One, it's 2016. Women are equal to men now, right? And two, we're both minors." Myrah clamps her mouth shut. I storm out of the room, down the hall, past the kitchen and dining room and back hall, and out the backdoor. The snow comes down hard. The flakes that are falling part like a curtain as I walk out into endless forest of white and silence. Snow accumulates on the branches of the pine trees. I walk farther away from the house and deeper into the backwoods.

"Essence! No! Essence?" North's voice cries. It fills the silence of the morning and echoes through the neighborhood.

"Come back! I'm begging you!" North calls again. I ignore him. I just want some time to myself. I need to clear my head.

"I'm coming for you! Don't go too far! Please! I'm coming, baby!" North's voice is closer now. He's really trying to find me. That feels good. But I still need to be alone. I start running, feeling tears smear my vision. I slip on the snow and go tumbling down the hill, screaming and yelling for North to help. The snow around me flies up as I tumble. I hit something hard. Oh no. The pond froze over. I hear the ice crack as I make contact with it. The water hugs my body and fills my nose. I thrash and try to scream. No sound comes out of my mouth. I can't swim. I feel like I'm moving around in molasses. An awful burning pressure fills my chest as I start to sink to the bottom of the pond. I hear panicking from above me and I try to scream again. A pair of hands dip into the water and I feel myself getting pulled to the surface from under my arms. Water streams off me, dripping onto the ground below. North gasps as he pulls me into the safety and familiarity of his arms. North was breathing heavily and rocking me back and forth in his embrace. He hugs me tightly and I choke and splutter. My nose burns. I cough, and it sounds more like a wet bark. North strokes my hair and gazes into my eyes.

"Essence, are you okay?! Baby! Can you hear me? Essence, tell me! Please! Are you okay?!" North pants. I whine and rub at my eyes.

"No!" I feel like a little kid again. "No!" North brushes the wet, clingy hair out of my face and assesses me from head to toe. I scream in frustration, feeling helpless.

"Essence! It's okay. Everything's gonna be okay! How did this even happen?!" North tries. I cough and choke.

"I tripped and just rolled." I murmur. North brushes his fingers over my cheek and gives me a kiss. He rocks me in his arms gently.

"My poor baby…" He whispers. He kisses my cheek gently and footsteps come up from behind him.

"Essence? Oh my god! Is she okay?" Myrah panicks. North glares at her and Derek passes him his sweatshirt, which he proceeded to wrap me in. I whimpered and the snowstorm whipped up. North pulled the hood over my head and picked me up, carrying me in his arms safely.

"We gotta get you dried off." North murmurs, resting my head in the curve of his neck. I inhale the smell of cologne and nature as he carries me up the hill, away from the forest, back to the safety of the house. I hear Myrah crying from behind me. Serves her right. I felt exhausted and heavy and miserable. My white blouse was clinging to my body and showing my blue bra. My jeans felt sticky and restraining. I groaned, feeling overwhelmed. North noticed my stress and he kissed my nose gently.

"It's okay. You're gonna feel better soon..." He assures me. I press my hand into his chest and feel myself calming down. He kicked the back door open with his heel and carried me into the living room.

"You've been put through the war today." North says, setting me down on the couch comfortably. "I'm gonna go get some towels, okay?" I nod and nuzzle his sweatshirt. It smells just like him. It's a little baggy on me, but it's absolutely perfect. I feel sexy in it. The others enter the room and Myrah chokes back tears. North comes back and sits down on the couch with me. He peels his sweatshirt off of me and wraps me up in fluffy white towels. He starts to undress me underneath the towels. I can't stop myself from blushing at least a little bit. My blouse comes off first and he sets it on the floor like it's no big deal. He starts taking off my jeans. His hands shake as he slides off my panties and unclasps my bra. Once everything's off, he pulls me closer, opening the towel a little bit so he can see me. The others watch from the doorway. North kisses me roughly and hugs me close, protecting me from anything else potentially dangerous. His kiss is comforting and I clutch the towel up against my body. North grabs it gently and pulls it away so I'm exposed to him again. The others leave the room, Myrah still whimpering.

"Why'd you take my clothes off?" I ask. North brushes a few strands of damp hair out of my face.

"Figured you… You wouldn't wanna sit around… In wet clothes…" North splutters. He eyeballs me again. "Yeah… Wet clothes aren't very… Aren't very comfy…"

"You just wanted me naked." I whispered. "Didn't you?" North blushed and nodded.

"Well, it worked. You're naked." North smiles. I feel shy and frail. North looks over me again, lust in his eyes.

"What're you gonna do to me now?" I ask. North's eyes boggle.

"Just sit back and watch…" He puts his hands on my shoulders. I gaze at him nervously. North presses his lips to my throat firmly and starts sliding down my body. His hands and lips drag down my front and trail down to my "hidden area". I whimper and squirm as he levels my thighs back and his lips just barely touch me there. I watch his tongue snake out of his mouth as he gets ready to please me.

"What the hell!" Derek cries. North curses and shoots apart from me. I pull the towel over my chest and pussy. Derek snickers and shakes his head. He and the others point to the T.V.

"Turn it on, now. Shit's all over the radio… This is big news!"

"O-okay?" North stutters. He presses a button on the T.V. remote and the T.V. buzzes to life. The news channel is still on from earlier. The newscaster looks troubled. She's standing outside, snow falling around her and she's in front of our school which is still frozen in ice.

"It seems that many were wrong about the developing situation." The newscaster murmurs. "The five missing teens that were thought to be Manipulators or were somehow involved with these attacks were confirmed dead just minutes ago." I gasp. North's eyes widen. What? How?!

"After interviews with the families of the victims, the conclusion has been drawn that they tried desperately to escape, but died just hours later. Their bodies were found encased in ice near I-95." North gapes at the T.V. in amazement.

Myrah's aunt's face popped on screen. Her eyes and face were red. "Myrah came home yesterday and she said, 'I'm scared. I'm scared. This girl at my school's been going crazy. I think she's gonna hurt me. She's been mean to everyone. She's gonna hurt me next.' I just thought she was being crazy or overly dramatic, but I guess she was right." I could tell she was lying. Her eyes were darting back and forth.

"Our condolences to the families of all the victims. The killer is either on the loose currently or has been eliminated as well. This is Kelly—" and with that, North mutes the T.V. and gazes at me.

"Oh my god." North murmurs. "Essence! Guys! We're free!" I wrap my arms around him and he squeezes me tightly. His lips find mine and he kisses me firmly.

"Mmm…" He murmurs. The others cheer and and dance around, squealing and hooting with happiness. North doesn't stop kissing me. Frankly, I don't care if he ever stops. His lips taste and feel amazing. All of the sudden, an image on the T.V. caught my eye. I pulled away from North and my eyes glazed over. Breaking News. Woman Found Dead in Her Home. Police Suspect Suicide or Poisoning. I felt my heart skip a beat. North un-mutes the T.V. and watches the news report unfold.

"50 year old Delilah Eirwen was found dead in her house a few hours ago. An autopsy confirmed there is an unknown and unfamiliar type of medication in her system. These pills, to be exact." The news reporter holds the bottle up. It's in a bag marked 'Evidence'. "An overdose has not yet been ruled out, nor has suicide. Despite all this, police are considering the fact that Miss Eirwen could have been poisoned. Something stranger? She's the grandmother of Essence Aria Eirwen-Aurora and the mother of Cassandra Eirwen, who are both dead as well. Are these cases linked somehow? The police found the fingerprints of Essence, Delilah, and another unknown person on the bottle of pills. We've had a busy couple of days, folks. A murder spree. A school frozen in ice, with the students and staff frozen inside. Five dead teens. A possible killer on the loose. A death in the family. Our condolences to the 2,044 people who lost their lives today and yesterday. One thing's for sure, the police will not stop until they get to the bottom of these tragic crimes. Thanks for watching. Hope you have a good day, everyone." Pictures flash on screen as the morning news signs off. A collage of yearbook photos. North, Myrah, Derek, mine, and Alyssa's school pictures. A picture of Delilah, smirking as if to say, I know what you did, bitch. My heart thunders. North turns off the T.V. again and glances at me.

"Essence, are you okay?" North soothes.

"I. Am. More than okay!" I cheer. "Your pills worked, North! You saved us!" I collapsed into him and wrapped him in a hug. I planted a kiss on his cheek.

"My hero. Thank you." I shuddered. North pulls the towel over my chest and nuzzles my hair gently.

"Anytime." North smiles. The others watch from the sidelines, in shock.

"North? You did this?" Myrah gapes. North nods.

"Yeah. Took a bit of work, but it eventually worked out in the end."

"What are they?" Derek marvels.

"Cyanide pills dyed black." North says. My eyes widen.

"Where'd you get cyanide pills?!" I gasp.

"My brother knew a guy." North says, winking at me. The rest of our day was semi boring. We sat around, talking about the news reports and feeling thankful that the police were off our trail. When it was time to go to bed, I glanced out the window, where frost was rapidly forming. I knew by the time morning came, we'd be in for a treat. North came up behind me and set his hand on my back, close to my ass. I glanced at him and leaned my head back into his shoulder.

"I was just curious. Would you… Would you… Wanna take a shower with me?" North murmurs. "I mean, you don't have to, I just was wondering. I mean—"

"I'd love to." I interrupt. North breathes out heavily. I grasp his hand and we walk to our bedroom, locking the door. North flicks the bathroom light on and shuts the door behind us. He reaches out and forcefully yanks the white towel off me. I was too lazy to put clothes back on after the pond incident. North's eyes sweep over me and he sighs satisfyingly. I reach out and start stripping him of his shirt and jeans, and his underwear slowly. North gazes at me as I do so. I feel my heart rise up to my throat. Every inch of skin is exposed to me. And every inch is perfect. My mouth feels like it's stuffed with cotton balls. North grabs my face and forces my eyes up to meet his.

"My eyes are up here." He teases. I lick my lips and gaze up at him. He turns around and reaches behind the shower curtain to turn the faucet on. Damn it. I can't focus on anything except for his ass. I feel awkward now.

"Don't think I don't know you're staring at me." North calls over his shoulder. I clamp my lips shut. North turns back around and kisses me. When he pulls away, he grabs my hand and steps into the shower with me. The mildly hot water sprays onto my skin and I moan without meaning to. North gapes at me and… Ahem… The dark knight rises. Let's just say that, okay?

"I'm… I… I'm... sorry…" I murmur. North shakes his head and grabs a bar of soap from the soap holder. He puts his hand on my hip, pulling me up against him. He lathers up the bar of soap and drags it across my stomach. The vanilla-scented suds slide down my skin and I sigh dreamily. North spreads the soap all over my body.

"North…" I murmur. He gazes at me uneasily and slips the bar of soap down between my thighs. He scrubs hard. I cry out and toss my head back. What is this?! What is he doing?! It feels amazing.

"Essence… Keep your voice down, okay? I'm gonna keep going now." North whispers, lifting up my thigh and scrubbing harder. The suds build up, as does my pleasure. I softly moan and groan as North works on me. Finally, finally, the sweet moment arrives. My spine tingles, I gasp, and my knees buckle.

"North! North… Oh fuck…" I moan. I throw my head back as liquid heat pools between my thighs.

"North!" I scream. North crushes his lips into mine. I gasp into his mouth and writhe as he scrubs me down there with the soap bar. I fall back into him and growl.

"Essence…" North murmurs as the tremors leave my body. He pulls the soap bar away and I feel myself throbbing and dripping. North sizes me up and down in approval. He pulls me into another kiss.

"Thank you." I murmur when he pulls away. North winks.

"Anytime." He smiles. I wash the suds off of my body and North watches lustfully. I pass him the bar of soap and he drags it across his abs. There was something so mesmerizing about it. I couldn't put my finger on it. North raised an eyebrow at me and smirked.

When we went to bed, we were both too lazy to throw on any clothes. We snuggled under the covers, naked. North never wanted to stop touching me. I never wanted to stop touching him. I want him forever. Our skin practically melded together, his lips on mine all night, the smell of love hanging thick in the air, ruining the bed sheets, hitting the bed frame into the wall.

"Essence…" North murmured. He tangled his legs with mine. "I love you so much."

"I love you more." I murmur. North shakes his head and plays with my hair.

"Impossible." He laughs. I shake my head and he rolls his eyes.

"Goodnight, beautiful." North whispers as he turns off the light.

"Nighty-night, handsome." I whisper as we lay in the darkness, holding each other tight.

 _I'm never letting you go, I think to myself._


End file.
